The Lost Water Medallion
by IamtheIC
Summary: The Lost Water Medallion chronicles the adventure of Cyrus the mercenary from the Trilby Highlands to retrieve the Water Medallion, which has been missing since the events that took place in Twilight Princess, namely the death of the Sage of Water. Cyrus is joined in his quest by Murad, the cowardly descendent of the Hero of Time, and by Ruto XVI, Princess of the Zora tribe.
1. Chapter 1

The breeze travelled wistfully across the Hylian plains. The grass shuffled in waves, sending emerald ripples cascading over the gently rolling hills. Heading toward the blue sliver of the Zora's River through these hills was a mercenary lord by the name of Cyrus.

Cyrus was young, approaching twenty six. He was a Hylian by birth, with pointed ears extending out through his dark red hair. He was built tall and strong, his strength coming with the many struggles with the sword he'd had during his mercenary career. His sea blue eyes scanned the waves of hills and he took a deep breath of fresh grassy air. This place was so much more beautiful than the land of his nativity, the rocky and thin-aired Trilby Highlands.

Cyrus's roving eyes caught movement off in the distance. He saw two hunched figures chasing a taller, slender one. Squinting, he saw the tails of the two pursuers. They were lizalfos, reptilian bandits that could be seen wandering all over Hyrule. Whoever it was that was being chased, they needed help. Cyrus began to jog toward the river, where the victim seemed to be heading. Though he wished to conserve his energy from his light pace, he wasn't gaining any distance and he broke into a run.

Detail was solidifying as he drew closer. Cyrus could now clearly make out the rough, green, scaly skin of the lizalfos with their characteristic black leather hauberks, short curved scimitars and bucklers. The nicks in their iron blades made the weapons look all the more wicked. Cyrus didn't even take the time to examine whoever it was being pursued. He drew his own blade and increased his pace slightly.

As he ran, Cyrus unslung his shield which caught the light of the sun above. The reflection shone in the eyes of one of the attackers as he turned around and growled at Cyrus, prodding the other to keep to their first prey, who had just tripped over a rock.

The lizard man sprinted ahead, blade raised and ready for a powerful stroke. Cyrus had to react quickly to dispatch his opponent in time to help the lizalfos' victim, who as he could now see out of the corner of his eye, was a Zora.

The lizalfos let his sword fall, but Cyrus was quick. He swung his shield in an arc above him, diverting the blow. Following directly behind the shield was his sword, but lower, catching the lizard in the throat. The Hylian hopped over the crumpled and lifeless body of his first enemy. The Zora was still on the ground, crawling backward to escape the assailant.

"Hey!" Cyrus barked as the lizalfos spun around to meet him. The second was not so rash as the first. He raised his buckler and sword, prepared for the charge. Cyrus continued at his speed, but rather than swing his sword, he kicked the lizard in his unarmored kneecap. The lizalfos clearly had not anticipated such a strike and buckled under his own weight. His life was ended as Cyrus' cold sword sunk deep into his heart.

Cyrus pulled his blade out and set it on the ground. He wasn't the least concerned that who he just rescued was a threat to him, and he didn't want to put his bloody sword back into his sheath before he cleaned it. Pacing toward the Zora he now had a chance to have a good look at her, for he could see now that she was a female. Apparently, very wealthy as well. She had several gold ornaments, bracelets, leg rings, and a pair of triangular shaped earrings hanging off of the two fins that hung from the top of her head down to the sides. All of the jewelry was also studded with many gemstones. She wore no clothing, but no Zora ever really did nor did they need to.

"You may not have such a problem with bandits if you didn't wear your wealth." Cyrus said as he offered a hand to help up the maiden, which she took. She was still a little rattled after being pursued. "Gods know I'm not worth that much," he said with a grin. Work had been a little scarce for him as of late.

Cyrus took some time to examine the beautiful woman he had just rescued before she regained her composure. Her features were very attractive and she appeared to be about the same age as the mercenary. She was slender, but not unhealthily so. Unlike most Zora, who had a bluish tint to their skin, she was colored a soft magenta hue. The fins on her waist extended down long, to about her knees. Those above her elbows draped down and flowed slightly with the wind. All Zora have an appendage not unlike a fish tail hanging from the back of their heads. Hers hung down to about her hips.

The Zora maiden was getting some strength back as she leaned off of Cyrus and stood up straight. Her eyes were as black as coal, yet Cyrus thought their depths looked peaceful like a calm summer night. There was a piece of her jewelry that hadn't caught his eye just yet. Hanging down from her neck was an amulet, made of the finest gold and sapphire. Three gold crescents were back to back to each other and inside of each was a great sapphire. When one looked in these gems it always made them feel like they were staring into the sea.

It was this exact gem Cyrus had had just had placed upon his own neck to his surprise. "Oh, you don't need to…" the Hylian began about to remove the necklace and return it. Before he could finish, the Zora gave him a peck on the cheek and dove into the river, swimming very quickly upstream. Cyrus called out to her, but she didn't answer or even look back.

The jewel brightly gleamed in the sun. Cyrus felt strange with it on, yet it was a good feeling. He ran his thumb along the sapphires. Their luster wasn't dulled by the dirt on his hands, and he could have sworn he saw a faint glow coming from them.

Cyrus shrugged and decided to go upriver to follow the one he had saved. If anything to learn her identity and return the jewel. "And," he thought hopefully and his eyes brightened. "If her family is as wealthy as it seems, they may pay me for rescuing their daughter." Cyrus smiled. It was a time of peace in Hyrule and a mercenary like himself always found his coinpurse getting lighter at such times. He didn't dare sell the treasure he was just given. The very thought of which made his stomach turn in revulsion. This was strange because in ordinary circumstances that would have been one of the first things he had done.

As he cleaned his blade Cyrus heard the wealthy Zora splashing up the river. He looked at his reflection in his now brightened blade as he heard the splashing drift away into silence. Cyrus gazed up toward the source of the river, sheathed his sword, and set his face. He didn't know how long this trip would be, but he was confident that it would be a short one. Just off in the distance he could see the river coming down the cliff face as a waterfall.

Admittedly, Cyrus had no idea as to the way to his destination. He never had occasion to venture to Zora's Domain as the Zoras usually kept to themselves and rarely, if ever, hired mercenaries like him. He was confident that he would make it, though. He knew that the source of the Zora's River was where he needed to go, and he didn't think it would be too difficult to follow along.

The sun shone overhead. There was still plenty of daylight left. As he made his way to the waterfall, Cyrus couldn't help but wonder how the Zoras would take to him venturing into their territory. He had always heard that they were a friendly people, as isolated as they were, but he could never be sure.

Upon arriving at the waterfall and looking up and down it for some hint of a trail and finding none, Cyrus let out an audible groan. As courageous as his many years of hard fighting and battle had helped him to become, he still dreaded heights, falling, and climbing. Something urged him on nonetheless, as much as the prospect of climbing up the waterfall upset him. He carefully picked his way up the rocks. The spray from the water chilled him.

A stone gave way under his boot and tumbled down the waterfall. Cyrus yelped and gripped tightly on his handholds and shuddered as he felt around with his foot for a sure place to put it. As he felt his palms sweating he worried further that he would lose his grip, which only made the problem worse. After what seemed like too long, Cyrus planted his feet on another secure foothold. Everything was well now and his nerves calmed. He hoisted himself up onto a ledge and sat down, drying off his clammy hands on his well-worn and loose-fitting travel shirt.

As he looked down the waterfall Cyrus let out an exasperated breath. He felt he had been climbing for hours but he couldn't have been more than a few feet up from the bottom. He looked up. All he saw was more of a great wall of rock that would still have to be scaled. He hoped that it wasn't as far as it seemed.

Cyrus looked up and down the falls again. He couldn't see how any Zora, much less the one he had just rescued could make it up this cliff. They had large, flipper like feet that would make such a climb impossible, or at least extremely difficult. Unless they could swim up the waterfall, which would be equally difficult, he thought, there must be another way up here. The Hylian once again looked back down and back up. He couldn't see anything that might betray another path. He grunted in frustration and resumed his ascent.

At long last Cyrus had crested the falls. Before him lay the long and wide ribbon of Zora's River winding its way towards him. To Cyrus' relief it didn't seem as if there were any more waterfalls along the path. He looked up at the sun. It had only moved a slight few degrees since he had began. He was glad his climb was over and that he still had plenty of daylight for the rest of the journey.

As he hiked along the trail Cyrus looked at the beautiful canyon he was hiking through. Hardy shrubs grew on their tenuous perches up and down the walls. Wildflowers grew randomly throughout the canyon, adding their own little splashes of color to the verdant scenery. Cyrus breathed deeply the crisp air coming off the river.

The sound of splashing on the river interrupted his thoughts. He saw a Zora darting back and forth between the rocks coming down the river. Following close behind was a rowboat with a young Hylian man paddling down the river toward him, his eyes fixed on the Zora. At the head of the river was a tour shop that, for a small price, let visitors ride down the river rapids, led by a Zoran guide. Cyrus had heard of these tours, but had no real interest in them.

"Hey!" he called out to the thrillseeker. "What's the fastest way up the river?"

"What?" called out the boater, looking toward Cyrus. "Unf!" he grunted when he hit a rock. "Keep your eyes downstream!" shouted the voice of the Zoran guide. He couldn't have been more than seventeen. "Sorry!" Cyrus called to the tourist as he floated down the river and shot a glance back at Cyrus. He watched the boater for a while as he drifted out of sight down the swift river before he resumed his hike.

After a while, Cyrus came to be a little numb to the clamoring of the water flowing beside him as it lapped against rocks and downed logs. He saw the occasional fish and frog hopping around. The trek was starting to feel monotonous. The sun still shone overhead, but slightly leaning to the West now. The heat of the early afternoon hours was blunted by the splashing water.

Otherwise it was an uneventful trip. Right about when Cyrus saw the sun settle just in between the canyon walls behind him he saw a pennant flowing lazily in the evening breeze. The azure standard greeted the traveller to Zora's Domain. Pretty soon the grassy shoreline of the river became pavement, signalling the official entrance into the home of the proud water dwellers. Approaching their city, Cyrus saw the occasional Zora pop his or her head out of the water to see him, and then promptly sink back down.

Cyrus regarded the Zoran guard that stood between him and the small gate that led to the city. The guard had on no armor, save a great bulky helmet that resembled the head of a fish. For a weapon the defender held a rather unwieldy looking pike. The pike seemed to be more ornamental than practical, with a spiral shell where the pole met the blade and coral inlays along the back of the blade.

The guard didn't move as Cyrus approached. He tersely asked "What is your business here?"

"I actually was given something by one of your people," Cyrus began as he was pulling out his new amulet out of his shirt. "Do you know who this might belong to?" he asked as he held it in sight of the guard.

"Don't mock me with that fake," growled the guard. "Excuse me?" asked Cyrus, rather confused. He looked at the gem again, trying to discern now if it truly was made of genuine gold and sapphire or mere costume jewelry. The sun glinted off the fine gems. The guard didn't say anything more, nor did he move. "I really don't know one way or the other if this could be fake or real," Cyrus admitted and handed over the gem. "Inspect it yourself if you wish, you probably know it better than I do."

The guard snatched it from Cyrus' hand and took a glance at it, then dropped his pike. "How again did you say you found this?" demanded the guard. Cyrus could see the gills on the sides of the guard's trunk suddenly flare out and water fall from them. "One of your people gave this to me after I saved her from lizalfos. She was wearing a lot of jewelry and had a reddish hue to her skin, which I understand is unusual for you Zora," he answered, wondering what the guard's response might be. He added "do you know who she is?"

"Let's see if the king believes you. Come with me," commanded the guard, leaving the question unanswered as he reclaimed his weapon and walked into the city, retaining the gem. Cyrus followed, he could only guess at what the king's response would be. He trailed the guard closely, saying nothing. The reflections off the water danced along the walls as they travelled down corridors and city streets and over bridged canals. The sound of flowing water was everywhere.

After a few minutes the two came to what Cyrus guessed must be the Zora King's palace. Coral of all colors lined the brilliant stonework, carved with the figures of Zoras, fish, and other aquatic life. "Wait here," the guard grunted while halting Cyrus with an outstretched webbed hand a few feet before the door. The guard entered the structure with the poise of a soldier. "On his best behavior," though Cyrus sarcastically.

He looked around the palace courtyard as he waited. Several Zora were around the grounds, all arrayed in much jewelry, Cyrus correctly presumed they were nobility. Guards stood at every entrance, looking straight ahead. A Zora child looked at him through the crowd. He was wearing just as fine jewels as were the rest and his eyes betrayed an innocence that only one of his age and upbringing could have. "If only you knew what happened to one of your own a few hours ago," Cyrus mused to himself.

A short while later the guard trotted out of the palace toward him. Cyrus still couldn't see his face under the heavy helmet, but he could tell that his demeanor had changed. The guard pressed the beautiful jewel back into Cyrus hands and bowed low as he gestured toward the door and announced "you may enter and see the King!" Cyrus was wondering just what this talisman he held was to encourage such treatment. He tentatively entered the palace with one eye still on the guard.

Every soldier stood at attention as he passed. Cyrus was feeling quite confused now. He certainly wasn't expecting this. Especially not since he was a mercenary and so roughly dressed. Straight ahead of him was the Zora King, sitting on his throne which was arrayed in great coral and carvings just as the palace was and dappled with gemstones of all kinds and cuts. The King was also resplendent in his raiment. He was ornamented with many jewels, a lot of them similar to the Zora maiden he had rescued not hours ago. He also wore a scarlet red cape that reached to about his waist.

The King rose to greet Cyrus. Unusual, he thought, for royalty to stand and greet anyone. A courtier off to the side announced loudly "presenting to the King Ralis III of the Zora, protector of Zora's Domain, Zora's River, and Lake Hylia, custodian of the great Sea Spirit Jabun, et cetera: Cyrus the Hylian of the Trilby Highlands and mercenary!" Cyrus was unabashed by the long flowery title of the King compared to his own. "Typical, trying to intimidate me," Cyrus thought darkly.

Cyrus did not bow either, he only tilted his head slightly. Hylian mercenaries do not bow as they claim allegiance to none but themselves. The King seemed to understand this and didn't comment press for the mercenary's respects. He only looked over Cyrus, spending much of his gaze on the gleaming amulet once again hanging from his neck.

"Do you know what you wear?" the King asked after a second or so of silence and after the courtiers announcement finished reverberating through the whole throne room. "I do not," Cyrus politely replied, hoping to finally find out just what this gem was. "It is called the Zora's Sapphire. It is a priceless artifact possessed only by Zoran royalty and those they deign to give it to." The King paused as if to let his words gain more power. "You have found great favor with my daughter."

Cyrus jolted. "That Zora was your daughter?" he asked in shock. "Why was she without guards? What was she even doing out of your city?" Cyrus attempted to come out with more questions, but a raised hand from the King quieted him. He was only now just noticing the the King's skin wasn't a blue-green like other Zoras, although it wasn't magenta like his daughter's either. His was of a more purple color.

"She often slips away unseen. I don't know how, but it causes me no small concern when she leaves without guards as she does," the King answered in a very even tone. The highlander was always bothered by the way that nobility never displayed much emotion, even when their own flesh and blood family were at stake. "Had you not been there I…" the great King choked on a word. "Forgive me. My daughter Ruto means much to me. Her mother died a few years ago and she is now my only family and heir." The mercenary assumed from seeing this the King may have spent many sleepless nights over the wayward princess.

After some time, King Ralis regained his composure. His voice resumed its same even tone. "You are a mercenary, yes? You shall be compensated for your service to me." Cyrus hardly understood why his next words left his mouth. It wasn't at all like him yet he knew what he said and he meant it. "My lord, you don't need to pay me. I did this out of the goodness of my own heart. Your daughter was in danger and I acted. Any decent fellow would have done what I have."

The other's face didn't change in the least, but Cyrus knew that he was stunned by what had just been said. "Very well," came the reply after a moment. "At least take lodging here for the night. There is something I would like to discuss with you, but the hour draws late. Please, follow Kalier to your room." King Ralis gestured to a Zora standing off to the side. "By your leave," said Kalier as he motioned for Cyrus to follow him. He tilted his head again toward the king and followed the guide.

As Cyrus followed the servant he noticed how his fins trailed behind as they walked. He looked at the walls as they moved down the corridor. They were lined with many relief carvings of what he assumed to be great men and women among the Zoran people. He could even make out the Hero of Time in one relief as they passed by. Each portrait had an inscription carved underneath, but Cyrus couldn't read the Zoran script.

"Who are they?" asked the highlander as he gestured at the reliefs. Without stopping, the courtier replied to Cyrus as they turned down the hall to the right "these are the Kings and Queens of our people, as well as some other heroes. Here we have the Hero of Time, and Humlah the shark-eater and others. Many hundreds of years of history are on these walls." Cyrus noted the pride in his guide's voice. "Here we have the last three monarchs of this dynasty." He introduced each monarch as he pointed to them in turn. "That is Rutella, who was slain during the Twilight Crisis a few years ago, her son Ralis II, and our current King, Ralis III. Long may he reign! He is beloved by his people. And this," paused the servant briefly as he indicated a blank spot on the wall "Is where Princess Ruto will take her place when she ascends to the throne." He paused further. "Oddly enough, this is where your guest room is!"

The servant opened the door to reveal a lavishly furnished room. The floor was a magnificent carpet that displayed many gaudy colors. A wash basin carved to look like a great clam shell rested near a bureau with a large mirror inlaid with mother of pearl. The bed appeared to be a very soft mattress with many sheets and pillows and was line by a curtain as well. Cyrus tried to restrain himself from cringing. He felt very uncomfortable in such an ostentatious room. Most often he was used to sleeping on, at best, a cot in a small tent.

"Enjoy your stay," chimed in the guide courteously. "If you need anything, tap the gong and a servant will attend to you immediately," he said as he gestured to a small gong resting on a table. "The King will see you at your leisure tomorrow morning," he added as a final thought. Cyrus nodded toward him in thanks and the servant left him.

The mercenary took some time to examine his lodgings. In addition to what he'd already seen, there was another room with a large tub. Cyrus presumed that it was used by the Zora as a chance to use their gills, as they needed frequent exposure to water to be comfortable. He pulled down a wooden nozzle on the wall. Water of a perfect warmth came flowing out and gave off a little steam when it hit the tub. He decided that he may as well take advantage of this and wash the road off. He tied the string of the nozzle down on a ring on the tub to let the water flow.

A small basket next to the tub held cloths. Cyrus gladly undressed and entered the tub. The warmth of the water prompted a sigh of contentment from the highlander. He was very glad to relax a little after his long days of travelling around Hyrule looking for mercenary work. He was anxious that King Ralis would have a decent job for him. As the highlander stretched he caught a glimpse of the Zora's Sapphire which he hung on a hook where he could see it. He now knew the name of his new artifact, but he still had no idea of its meaning. His curiosity had been furthered when he had seen many of the Zora taking a good look at it while he was in town.

A quiet knock at the door interrupted his thoughts and relaxation. "Bad time," Cyrus gruffly responded, not wanting to be disturbed. He sighed and closed his eyes, breathing in the steamy air.

After washing himself, Cyrus redressed and checked his door just in case a note was left behind. Whoever it was left nothing. He shrugged and went to bed and fell asleep almost immediately, worn and tired from all the excitement of the day.

The next morning-if it was, Cyrus couldn't tell what time of day it was because his room had no windows-came quickly. The young mercenary donned his shirt, belted on his sword, and slung his shield on his back. As he opened the door, he realized that he didn't particularly remember the way to the throne room as he wasn't paying much attention. He decided to follow in the direction that exhibited the relief carvings, as he saw many of them on the way to his quarters.

Cyrus glanced at each carving along the way. The expressions on some looked heroic, some triumphant, others stoic, a few wore kind and loving faces. Cyrus wasn't one for history, but he still wondered who these people were in life. After a few seconds of roaming down the hall he saw what appeared to be the throne room.

Once he entered, a guard flinched in surprise. Cyrus' expression hardened. As a mercenary commander he did not tolerate faint hearts among his ranks. "Some soldier you are," he thought bitterly, yet he caught himself before the words left his mouth. The guard looked at him through his large helmet while Cyrus headed toward the center of the room. King Ralis was comfortably seated on his throne and was speaking to an advisor when Cyrus approached.

"Ah, you're here," the King said as he rose from his throne. "Walk with me," he commanded as he gestured to the door. Cyrus thought this unusual for a King to do something like this. He glanced behind as he saw the entourage follow. "I trust your quarters were to your satisfaction?" queried the King in his typical level tone. "Yes," came the terse reply. "Yes, _Lord,_" corrected the guard forcefully. Cyrus silenced him with a sharp glare. It was the same guard that flinched earlier in the throne room.

Presently the group had reached a balcony. The King leaned on the short stone wall, overlooking the teeming city below. Hundreds of Zoras were bustling back and forth in the great city going about their business. King Ralis finally broke the silence between the two. "Why did you come here Cyrus? Be honest." The highlander thought the King sounded more natural that he had yet before. He felt that no harm could be done in answering the King truthfully, yet the words didn't come without difficulty for reasons Cyrus couldn't explain. "You know full well that this is a time of peace, and in my particular line of work, I have none. After I saved your daughter I considered the vast amount of wealth that her family must have and I became hopeful that I would be greatly recompensed,"

"That's not what you told me in the palace," responded the King, sounding slightly hurt by Cyrus' perceived dishonesty earlier. He was still staring out into the city below.

"I didn't lie to you." Cyrus replied. "I saved your daughter out of my own goodness, as I told you. The thought to inquire for reward came later, yet I couldn't bring myself to ask for one-or even accept a reward when the time came."

Silence hung in the air for a moment. Cyrus finally broke it by asking "I still don't know what's so special about this Zora's Sapphire your daughter gave me. I understand that it must be extremely rare."

"The only one of its kind." the King cut in.

Cyrus continued, "...and why your daughter would give it to me, and why your people seem so astonished to see me wear it."

The King flicked off a grain of sand on the short wall then stood up and faced Cyrus. "Those questions will need to wait for another time, and perhaps by that time you'll have found out yourself. You may keep the Zora's Sapphire for the time being."

The mercenary only looked at him and he tucked the shining jewel into his shirt.

The King spoke. "Last night I told you that I would indeed have a quest for you. I doubt that you get many like it." The King paused for a moment and dismissed his entourage with a short "leave us." As they shuffled away the King resumed. "You may know that a few decades ago during the Twilight Crisis the Sage of Water was slain. What you may not know, and as many have seem to have forgotten, that each Sage holds a medallion representing their power. Ever since the Sage died, his medallion has been lost.

"This is where I need you. On behalf of the Zora people, I request that you retrieve the medallion to its rightful place here: in Zora's Domain, until a new sage can be awakened."

Cyrus let his thoughts come into his response. "I've played the gofer before, so this job is not unusual to me as you may think. Mercenaries are not all about fighting all the time. What concerns me is why haven't your own people done this? You sound like you are much more qualified to find this medallion as you are much more knowledgeable about it that I am."

King Ralis stared wistfully out the canyon. He answered Cyrus' question "We might know a good deal about the medallion, but we can only guess at where to find it. We would have to inquire of the Sages to find that out, but no Zora could ever cross the Gerudo Desert to the Arbiter's Grounds where the Sages reside, due to the total lack of water in those burning sands." The King sighed and continued. "And anywhere we suspect the medallion to be our soldiers refuse to go, saying that those places are cursed, haunted, and any other manner of things they can concoct."

Cyrus almost laughed. Zoran soldiers indeed did not have the greatest reputation, but he didn't think that they would be so bad as to deny their leaders when they could be retrieving a priceless artifact of such grand importance to their own people. Luckily he stifled his mirth before the King could notice.

"As such," as the King proceeded with the briefing, "We have few soldiers and sending them on this errand would not even leave sufficient guards to defend our city. We cannot spare soldiers to go search for the water medallion." King Ralis' even tone resumed and he looked at Cyrus directly in the eyes as if to coax out the mercenary's very soul. "You would be very well recompensed for this service to us. We would be eternally grateful to you. Cyrus… Will you retrieve the water medallion?"

Cyrus didn't even think about his answer. He needed money and he didn't think this job would be too difficult. His answer was a resounding "Yes, my lord!" The formal title came because in the culture of Hylian mercenaries, when a contract is taken on, a mercenary considers himself subject to whoever he is working for. King Ralis smiled and laid a hand on the highlander's shoulder. "You are a saint!" he said with marked excitement. "What supplies will you need and what shall your payment be?"

Since he was often out on his own, Cyrus had become quite the woodsman and could easily live off the land, so he declined supplies, but as for his payment he explained "You must be quite unfamiliar with mercenaries in general, sire. Never pay before the job is done. I'm not saying that I am, but there are a few out there that would take your rupees and you would never see them again. We'll discuss payment when I return. I thank you for this task, King Ralis. I will not disappoint you."

With that, Cyrus turned and left quickly out of the city. "Even if I'm searching for a unique magical artifact, there's still a chance of a pay day!" he thought jovially as he almost leapt out the gate. His enthusiasm was quickly dampened, however when he saw the daunting sight of the Zora's River flowing heedlessly downstream. He remembered the climb up, and that in his experience, climbing down was usually more difficult. "How am I going to get down?" the mercenary wondered aloud.

Cyrus paced on the edge of the river looking down at the flowing water. As he considered his options he heard a voice familiar to him coming from behind. "You could always ride down." Cyrus whipped around to see the face of a Zora friend of his by the name Salin. Salin was tall and strong, and about the same age as the mercenary. He had been with Cyrus on many of his jobs. Seeing his old friend up here was a welcome sight. "Salin, what are you doing here?" Cyrus asked in mock gruffness. Before long both broke into smiles and laughter, glad to see old friends again. "I should be asking you the same, Cyrus," Salin asked with a grin.

"I was actually here to see the King-" the mercenary began, but was interrupted by the Zora. "To ask for payment for saving his daughter, right?"

"Yes," replied Cyrus, taken aback. "How did you know?"

"I just put the pieces together. Yesterday Ruto came up the river telling stories of a handsome and mighty highlander warrior that had a sword within a rupee on his shield that had saved her."

"Go on…" Cyrus said patiently.

"While you're neither 'handsome' nor 'mighty,'" Salin resumed jokingly, "I knew that was your shield. I also heard that you chose to accept no payment for saving the princess." Salin could see the question forming on Cyrus' face but answered it before it hit the air "News and rumor travel quickly up here, but to the point where they are sometimes unintelligible one from another." Salin took a step forward. "Is it true, Cyrus? Did you come all the way up here for mere thanks?"

The mercenary looked at the ground briefly. For the first time since rescuing Ruto, he wondered if he was losing his edge after his friend's question. "I… No," he began. "I was originally going to ask for payment, but something held me back. It felt wrong to ask for money for doing what any decent fellow would have done."

"You've gone soft," the other declared flatly as he folded his arms, confirming Cyrus' fear.

"I have not!" protested Cyrus. "As a matter of fact he did give me a job." Salin looked stunned. He knew as well as Cyrus that the Zora didn't often hire mercenaries. The highlander continued. "It seems your people are missing something called the water medallion and the King has asked me to find it. He suggested that I first go to the Arbiter's Grounds and ask the Sages where it might be found."

Salin let out a short, mirthless laugh that almost sounded like a bark. "You and the King are crazy! Nobody has seen the water medallion for centuries, how do you even know if it's still in this world or if the Sage took it with him? And the Arbiter's Grounds? They have been a crumbling ruin since the Twilight Crisis. There's no telling how bad those dusty old stones are now." A smile then crawled up his face. "Sounds like the perfect job for you!"

Cyrus gave a small smirk. "All of us mercenaries specialize in the impossible. The problem right now is getting to the Arbiter's Grounds. Not only do I have to negotiate the climb back down the Zora's River, I also need to find a way up the cliffs to the desert, trudge across the sand while hopefully avoiding thieves and bandits and THEN navigate the ruins."

Salin wrapped an arm around his friend and began to walk him to the tour shop. "I can help with the River part at least. You could ride down," he said repeating what he had mentioned earlier. Cyrus shrugged off the arm and looked the Zora in his emerald green eyes very seriously. "Salin, I knew that you gave up mercenary work after your last little adventure, but surely you don't mean you work for the tour shop running boats down the river now?" Salin looked away and tugged on one of the fins hanging off his head.

"It's true isn't it?" Cyrus pressed.

"Look, it's all I could find," Salin declared flatly.

The highlander looked at his friend while shaking his head, then he looked down the river. "Can you get me a discount?" he asked after a while. Before Salin could answer a shout came from the tour shop. "Salin get your scaly rear end into the river! I pay you to run the tour, not jabber at the customers!" Salin looked up at the shop as his his boss emerged. The woman that ran the tour shop had a great shrub of hair atop her head that bobbed around as she walked and moved her head. She was thin and of average height. "Yes, your highness," grumbled the Zora as he dove into the river without further argument.

"Pardon the fish man," the woman said pleasantly. "Now, to business. How would you like a thrilling ride down the Zora's River? It will be the greatest adventure you've ever had. You can feel the adrenaline coursing down your arteries as the rapids surge you forward." Cyrus noted the intonations and the emphases she put on certain words. He wondered how much practice she had had with her sales pitch. "I will, but ONLY because it's faster than walking," he answered. The head of the shop smiled. "Alright, come with me I'll get you outfitted."

Cyrus was quickly equipped with a small rowboat and an oar. He shifted around trying be in a spot that would be the most balanced possible. The mercenary was wary; he had ridden on few boats before, and never was he in the vessel for the whole trip. He didn't care to repeat such an experience on this turbulent river. "Ok," began the shop head. "Your guide is Salin over there." Salin gave a brief polite wave and a big toothy smile. Cyrus knew his friend too well not to know that the gestures were exaggerated. Right as his employer had her back turned he hooked one of his fingers and pulled it on the inside of one of his cheeks. The highlander had been around a few other Zora mercenaries in his day and he knew that was a rather offensive gesture in their culture, representing the setting of a fish hook.

The woman resumed her instruction. "Keep your eyes on him the whole time and stay in the boat. Any questions?"

"Yes actually. I don't have much money. Is there any chance of a discount?" Cyrus asked. The other obviously didn't hear him since she pushed the boat out into the river and called out as Cyrus "Have fun!" as he floated away.

The boat quickly gathered up speed. Not too far in the distance Cyrus could see Salin leaping out of the water periodically to stay in sight. The river raced downstream, heedless of the rocks and logs that were its obstacles, either flowing around or over them. The light vessel flowed along with it. Cyrus hit some rapids and felt the spray of the river drench him and filled the boat slightly.

As dangerous as the trip was the highlander was beginning to enjoy himself. The speed the river carried him at was exhilarating. He had to paddle furiously to avoid hitting certain rocks, and this provided an interesting challenge for him. He took a moment to admire the beautiful scenery around him, but this was a mistake. As soon as he refocused his gaze downstream, there was a gigantic boulder obstructing his path and he didn't have enough time to react and pilot the boat away.

Salin heard a loud noise behind him that could only be shattering wood. He had heard this sound a few times in this particular line of work and nothing good ever came of it. The Zora turned around and only saw a few boards flowing down the river. His heart sank as he called out to Cyrus and heard no answer. More boards of varying sizes drifted past. He knew the boat was obliterated and he desperately hoped Cyrus wasn't as well.

The Zora torpedoed to the other side of the rock. Even the strong currents of the Zora's River were no challenge to an accomplished swimmer like himself. He found Cyrus pinned against the rock, completely motionless. "Cyrus!" Salin cried, but still no answer. He quickly dragged his friend away from the rock and onto the bank of the river. Pulling the weight of another full grown man was much more difficult in the rapids.

Slain laid the soggy mercenary on the cool ground and checked his vitals. "Heartbeat… breathing… Come on! Wake up!" the Zora barked at Cyrus. The mercenary shifted a little bit and his eyes slowly slitted open. "Thank the gods you're alive, Cyrus! That was a horrible crash," were the words Cyrus was greeted with as he awoke. "I think I might have lost your boat, Salin. I'm sorry," replied the mercenary absently as he tried to sit up. A jolt of pain shot across his ribs as he cried out and fell back onto the ground.

"Stay down, Cyrus, it'll help," Salin ordered as he stood up. A sudden bolt of realization came to the Zora's mind. "I'm fired after that one," he groaned.

"I didn't mean to crash," Cyrus said quietly and apologetically.

Salin turned slightly to look downstream. "It's fine. I hated this job anyway."

"What will you do now?" asked Cyrus, his head still throbbing.

"I don't know," confessed the Zora.

Cyrus' eyes widened as he felt around his shirt. "There is something you could help me out with… I've lost my necklace."

Salin knelt on the ground and faced his friend. He said very seriously to him, "Cyrus there is absolutely no way that you can get anything you lost from that crash. I don't care how valuable it was. Count it for gone. Just be glad that you're fine. You're worth more than whatever it was you lost."

Cyrus shook his head earnestly, but this caused another jolt of pain. He replied weakly, "I need that back, Salin. The necklace I had was THE Zora's Sapphire! I wish I could help you look for it."

The Zora's hairless brow began to knit together. "The Zora's Sapphire is no joking matter. If you mean to tell me that-" Salin's statement was interrupted by a thought. His eyes slowly widened in horrific realization when Cyrus' expression remained grave. "You really aren't joking are you? How did you even come to get it?" he demanded.

Cyrus struggled a little to sit up. He still couldn't do it. He looked up at the tall Zora and answered him, "I saved your Princess Ruto as you know and she gave it to me." In response, Salin began rending the air with shouts of indignation and several obscenities in Zoran. At last he addressed Cyrus with a groan, "I don't know who to be more angry at right now, Ruto for idly giving away the Zora's Sapphire so idly or you for losing it. Huhh… I'm going to look for it, but don't you move while I'm gone."

Before Salin dove into the river Cyrus spoke up. "I had it in my shirt and securely around my neck. I have no idea how I could have lost it." The Zora only huffed "Ruto," and splashed into the water. Left alone, the highlander closed his eyes and began to drift off to sleep.

Cyrus awoke a few hours later. The sun was setting and the sky was ablaze with the orange of twilight. He looked up and down the river, but he saw no sign of Salin. "Hope he's alright," he sighed. The mercenary arose. His head was still throbbing a little and his chest had a few bruises, but he was perfectly capable of movement again. As he twisted his torso he thought he saw the glint of red eyes upstream. Grasping the hilt of his sword Cyrus listened carefully. He could barely hear a faint "skrie, skrie," cry over the sound of the river. "Tektites!" he gasped.

The highlander quickly drew out his sword and readied his shield. As they got closer, he could see them better in the half-light. Blue bodies with four yellow legs studded with spines. One gleaming red eye was in the center of the body. All of the horrors locked their gazes on him and leaped in his direction.

The insectile attackers began to surround Cyrus. Tektites were not usually a threat to skilled swordsmen such as himself, but such a large pack would prove a challenge. With a mighty swing of his sword, Cyrus clove two of the monsters in half as they leaped at him. As he heard another of the beasts cry out behind him he whipped around just in time to halt its leap with his shield. Having it's path disrupted it fell helplessly on its back, legs flailing desperately to try and right itself. Cyrus ended it's life with a thrust to it's center before the tektite could get back into battle.

The tektites were closing distance now, clawed legs jabbing menacingly. Cyrus had to break out of the circle quickly to avoid taking any harm. He immediately scanned around and saw an opportunity: a tektite in the circle that was faltering a little. The mercenary roared and charged at the hapless creature, shield in front and sword raised. He brought it down before his victim could react and spun around to face the rest of them. The pack was getting angry now that Cyrus had killed four of their number.

Several at once began leaping at the highlander now. He deflected their attacks with his shield and brought his sword down upon those that tried to attack him individually. Even though he was an experienced fighter, Cyrus was beginning to lose ground. He was inching backwards as the tektites closed in, but then he felt his boot hit the cliff wall behind him. "Not good," he mumbled as he tried to put his shield in the most protective position.

The tektites began to chitter excitedly. Altogether they prepared to dive at Cyrus, but something surprised them. Barreling out of the water with the Zora's Sapphire wrapped around his left wrist, Salin bellowed as he surged toward the tektites. Though unarmed, he was still dangerous. Zoras have the ability to stiffen the fins protruding from their upper arms into a sharp edge that can easily cut through things as hard as a tektite's exoskeleton.

Grasping a part of each fin for control, the Zora rushed at the assailants dispatching them rapidly in their confusion. Cyrus took advantage of their disarray and began slashing at the beasts himself. By the time their enemies could recover from the surprise they began making great leaps downstream, making their "skrie, skrie," cries all the way down.

"I'm getting rusty," said Salin with a grin as he relaxed his arms and let his fins become flexible again. "Naw, that was great!" Cyrus replied as he smiled back. "I see you found the Sapphire," he added.

"I did," Salin answered. "Don't lose this again. The Zora's Sapphire is an extremely important artifact from my people's history. If I were lost, it would be like losing a part of our own identity."

"I understand that," Cyrus said impatiently. He knew the Sapphire was important. What he still didn't know was what it meant when Ruto gave it to him. He even asked Salin why she would have, but his only reply was "I really shouldn't be the one to tell you." Cyrus pressed him further, but Salin remained silent on the matter.

The Zora looked at the sky. Daylight was almost totally gone. "We probably ought to make camp for the night," Salin commented.

"I'll get dinner," chimed Cyrus as he made his way to the river, sword drawn. "You can't eat tektite!" the Zora called out to him. The mercenary held his sword in reverse grip, staring intently at the water. He jabbed with cat-like accuracy and hoisted up his sword which had a good-sized green gill speared on the tip. "Wow, first try," the highlander said as he smiled brightly. Salin looked at the fish in surprise. As he watched Cyrus pace toward the river again the mercenary called out to him. "I'll work on getting another one. You could probably gut them better with your fins than I can with my sword."

"My favorite part," grumbled Salin as he got to work on the fish. Shortly thereafter they had a small meal of roasted greengill. The pair had found just enough dry wood to cook the fish.

"Do you think you can make it back to the tour shop tonight?" asked Cyrus as he threw the fish bones into the river. Salin sighed. "Why bother? After losing another boat, this one beyond repair and almost losing a customer, I'm as good as fired." He fitfully tossed a fistfull of dirt on the fire which popped and crackled. "I'm sorry," Cyrus said quietly.

"It's not your fault," Salin dismissed with a wave. "Besides I was getting tired of working for that hag anyway."

Cyrus' face brightened. "Hey, maybe if you can't go back to work at the tour shop, how about working as a mercenary again? Don't you remember all the good times we had when we were working together?"

The Zora deeply contemplated the question. "I'm torn Cyrus. Mercenary work is all I've really done and enjoyed, but I'd rather not be in a line of work that would bring me to meet the gods before my time." He absentmindedly flicked a pebble. "Let me sleep on it. I'll let you know in the morning."

"Sounds good to me," said Cyrus as he cleared away a small patch of ground. "Good night," he yawned. Cyrus fell asleep very quickly, even after having slept a few short hours ago. Salin on the other hand, was leaned up against the cliff wall deep in thought. Soon enough though, sleep overtook him, too.

That night, Salin had a dream. He was perched atop a fortress wall in the Gerudo Desert. A small pool of water was prepared for him so that he could survive there. He was dressed in his full combat gear. His armor was made out of thin plates, allowing for ease of movement and also had vents on the sides of his abdomen for use of his gills. Salin had this armor specially made to be very lightweight so he could still swim in it. Even so, the sun was beating down on the plates and made him very hot.

The Zora stared out over the arid dunes. There were absolutely no landmarks around save the fortress he was in currently and the ancient ruins of the Arbiter's Grounds far into the distance. A voice came to him from the side, the voice of a Gerudo warrior. She was very slightly muffled by the scarlet red veil she had over her face. "Sir, our scouts report that Cyrus' army of mercenary pigs will be here inside the hour."

As dreams often go, Salin knew things in this dream that had never happened before. He had been captured in battle a few months ago and under threat of the eradication of his people, he was forced into the servitude of the army of foul and evil creatures that were threatening Hyrule and was given command of this fortress in the desert.

"Thank you, corporal. Tell the soldiers to prepare for battle," Salin replied as he dismissed Gerudo. "Understood," she saluted crisply and handed the Zora his favorite weapon. It was a polearm, with a head consisting of a very long spike and two blades opposing each other. These blades extended to points that ended a little before the spike did.

The soldier he had just spoken with was now shouting down to a mixture of all the evil creatures of Hyrule. Gerudo with their billowing clothes made to keep off the harsh desert sun. These warrior women wore no armor, but their scimitars were made to be very wide and could block as well as a shield. Among the crowd were also stalfos, large armored skeletons with wicked blades; bokoblins, brutish, stupid and hideous creatures. They were often placed on the front line to be used as pawns to weaken the enemy. Bulbins which were of equal status to the bokoblins, and the biggest threats were moblins, massive warriors with boars heads that were feared for their charge, and darknuts, great heavily armored knights that had proved themselves in many battles.

"Prepare yourselves! Cyrus will be here soon! All but a few guards will meet the enemy a half mile out in the desert so they can't get close enough to deploy siege engines!" yelled the Gerudo. Salin was still looking out over the desert, hating the bind that he was in. He had absolutely no love for and no desire to serve this evil army, but he had no choice. He quietly spoke while his soldiers were preparing themselves down below. "Cyrus, my old friend here we will be on the field of battle once again, but now as foe and not as friend as we should be."

The Zora thought he could see the glint of metal a good distance out. A watchman beside him cried out "The enemy is here! What's the order, sir?" she asked as she turned to face Salin. He answered loud enough for the whole of the army to hear. "Open the gates and to your ranks in the desert! You thirst for blood and you will have it!" The odd cheer could be heard in the crowd as the gates groaned and creaked open slowly as the evil denizens of Hyrule formed up and marched forward into the sands.

Out in the dunes, Salin stood at the head of his army. He took a quick drink from his canteen and showered himself with a little water. A Zora needed hydrated skin just as any human would need a hydrated throat. Behind him he could hear his forces shifting and murmuring impatiently. In front, the footsteps of the opposite host were getting steadily louder. The other army gradually took shape.

Cyrus was indeed leading the approaching forces. He wore his full suit of armor as well, which greatly added to his already imposing stature. The wind billowed his flowing red cape. The soldiers behind him were composed of all the tribes loyal to the Hylian crown. Hylians formed the bulk of the infantry, all in chainmail armor. It was the best they had to protect themselves and at the same time not be too warmed by the harsh desert sun. Salin could also see several mighty Gorons. These were to be the most feared of all of Cyrus' army. Though unarmed and some unarmored, their rocky bodies withstood most blows and they could punch so hard they could break through rocks. Salin even thought he saw the odd Zora. Many pennants and banners were tossed by the desert breeze. Each tribe had their own flag, but all were led by the proud banner of the Hylia, a triforce with wings and talons.

The highlander halted his troops several feet away from Salin's army. He called out to the Zora, "Here we are. I'll give you a chance at surrender to us. I know where your heart truly lies, Salin. Don't make this mistake."

The Zora looked at the ground and then locked his eyes on his friends, for they still were even though they were on separate sides of the conflict. "You know I can't do that," he replied. "I and the whole Zora people would face their doom if I did."

"Then," Cyrus sighed, "I'm sorry my friend, but one of us has to die here."

Each of the two friends signaled their troops to charge. Many shouts, roars, and battle cries were heard. Massive darknuts dispatched many with each swing of their greatswords, and Gorons rolled like gigantic boulders through the monster horde, carving great paths and tumbling back to safety among their own ranks. Steel clashing against steel banged out in deafening rings all throughout the battlefield.

Cyrus and Salin spotted each other across the open and sprinted for each other. Cyrus with his sword raised and shield forward, Salin with his polearm in a defensive position. He didn't dare have the blade out. He knew very well how Cyrus fought and he knew that his weapon would be knocked aside with a shield bash and he would be dispatched almost instantly. Instead when they got close, Salin dug one end of the weapon into the ground and vaulted toward Cyrus with both feet out.

The highlander leaped backward to avoid the kick. Losing his momentum would cost him. He swung his sword in a mighty arc before him, missing his opponent by inches. The two were nearly equally matched. Cyrus' sword was a much faster weapon, and he had additional protection afforded by his heavier armor and shield, but these would slow him down slightly. Salin on the other hand, was more nimble and had a slight height advantage and greater reach.

Salin now had his tip forward, and he had choked up on the pole somewhat and angled his weapon a little so he could quickly recover from a shield bash. The battle raged all about the pair, but their only focus was on each other at this moment. The Zora lunged forward, but feinted as Cyrus moved his shield to intercept and swung his pike in a great half-circle. The Hylian ducked just in time to avoid the lethal assault. "I'm not that easy!" Cyrus shouted as he tried to jump forward to get Salin within reach of his sword.

"But you are easily distracted." the Zora shot back as he swung the butt of his weapon and struck Cyrus on the side of the head. The blow made the mercenary's helmet and ears ring, but he was otherwise unphased. With a speed that only many years of battle could give him, he raised his shield above his head as the other brought his long weapon down on him. The highlander angled his shield and pushed the weapon aside and charged Salin.

Cyrus was now too close for Salin to do much with his polearm, but he still had his advantages. As the highlander swung his sword, the Zora absorbed the blow with the haft of his pike. He took quick advantage of Cyrus' recoil and jumped back, jabbing his pike as he did. Cyrus could do nothing about the attacks, but they only left superficial damage on his armor. The highlander was getting frustrated. He grabbed the pole as Salin made another thrust. They struggled with it for a while, but the Zora had more than just brute muscle to regain his weapon. He made an edge from his fins and slashed at Cyrus' right hand, piercing the mercenary's right glove and leaving a deep furrow across the back of his hand.

Cyrus howled in pain and let go of the weapon. "I should have worn my gauntlets!" he cursed to himself as he reclaimed his sword before another blow could be struck. The wound in his hand wouldn't bother him for much longer. He came from highlander stock and he could tough it through pain. He had done so in many battles before and emerged victorious.

Angry with pain, the mercenary rushed forward again, this time deflecting every blow and making powerful swings with his sword and shield. Cyrus knew how to use his shield for defence as well as offence. Salin dodged and blocked every blow, but his stamina was waning. He knew that at this point, speed was the key and he had the slower weapon, but he had a trick ready.

In the midst of his attacks, the highlander brought his sword down with as much force as he could, but the sword landed between the spike and the blade on the polearm. Salin quickly reacted and twisted. Cyrus yelped in pain and surprise as the force sent waves of pain down his arm and tore the sword from his hand. Before he could position his shield to defend, the Zora had his pike ready pointed directly at his friend's heart, prepared to lunge with the force required to pierce the armor. Both were panting.

"I suppose this is it, then." Cyrus said. "You have to kill me." The mercenary had faced death many times before, he was so numb to it that even right now he wasn't as afraid as most would be. Salin answered with a lot of regret in his voice. "I would have it any other way, but the fate of my people is in the balance."  
"Do it, then," Cyrus ordered. Then he began muttering in his native highlander tongue "Ruha, Ruha, Eulia naie shrai…" but his personal last rites were interrupted as a thrust from the pike ran through him. The spike hit his heart, and he fell without a sound.

Salin was torn from sleep. "Cyrus! No!" he shouted as he sat bolt upright, heaving great breaths to help regain his composure. It was only a dream, but it felt so real, so vivid. Almost to confirm he was still alive, Salin looked at his friend a few feet away. He was still sleeping peacefully, despite the outburst.

Just then the Zora noticed a strange robed figure standing a foot or so in the air. His robes were old and worn. He could make out no facial features because the mysterious figure had his face wrapped up. The only thing that he could see of his face were that his eyes were completely white, no iris and no pupils. This person made Salin very uneasy.

"Who are you?" the Zora asked suspiciously as he hardened his fins. The other replied in a voice that seemed to come from everywhere. "Peace, Salin. What you have seen will only come to pass should you take up the path of a mercenary once again." Salin had many questions, but he decided to repeat his original one. The mysterious man didn't move but only answered "I am an oracle. I've been sent to tell you of the darkness that would result should you return to your mercenary ways. Should you do this, you would be captured and become a tool of a great evil that will come in the land."

Salin was still suspicious, but he lowered his fins slowly. He cautiously stepped toward the other, but the oracle moved back at the same speed Salin approached. Another question escaped his mouth "What should I do then?" he asked. Though the Zora was apprehensive, he somehow felt that this robed spectre could be trusted. The oracle responded with a direct answer. "I am not permitted to say. I can only tell you what I have been sent to."'

The first rays of sunlight peered through the canyon, ready to burst forth into the new day. The oracle looked over to the rising sun and evaporated, but the sound of his voice came to Salin one last time. "Remember Salin, do not hire out your sword again." The Zora stood still for a few moments, muddling through the events of his dream and this strange visitor.

His thoughts were broken when a cuckoo crowed loudly to herald the new day. Cyrus stirred slightly, grunted, and sat up. "After that I'll never complain about sleeping on a bedroll again," he groaned, massaging his back. The Hylian looked up at Salin, who appeared to be wide awake. "How long have you been up?" he asked. "Not too long," the Zora replied distantly. After a moment he added "I can't go with you."

"What? Can't?" Cyrus asked, a little surprised. He felt sure that Salin would eventually decide to come with him, at least after he left the desert. "Why can't?" he pressed.

Salin was still mulling over the events of the night. "I really don't know myself," he replied absently.

Cyrus shrugged at this and rose. Stretching out and belting on his sword again. Hoping to lighten the mood a little, the mercenary dug a root out of the ground a beat the dirt off of it and tossed it to Salin. "Can't leave without breakfast," he said cheerfully. Salin rubbed a little bit more dust off of it and broke off a small piece. "What is it?" he asked taking the bite. He choked on the root and spat it out.

"Nasty," Cyrus replied with a smile, "but it will give you more than enough energy for several hours. Salin tried the root again, and he was trying very hard to swallow this bite. "Because its awful taste wakes you up?" Salin mumbled through a mouthful. Cyrus chuckled and began to gnaw on a root of his own. His facial expression changed almost imperceptibly in reaction to the bitter taste and rough texture of the fare.

Both finished the bitter meal, saying little to each other. They almost felt that if they opened up their mouths the root would fly out. When both had enough, Cyrus rose and slung his shield over his shoulders. He shrugged it into place and said, almost to himself while looking down the river, "Just my luck that I can't make this trip without at least one climb." Salin looked at him. He was still thinking about his dream the previous night.

Finally, Salin rose and turned back to face Cyrus and said "I'll accompany you to Lake Hylia, then I may need to head back up river. No matter how much of a hag my employer was, I'll need to at least tell her what happened." Cyrus began walking with him. "Thanks," he replied.

They weren't very far from the Zora's River's final waterfall that emptied into Lake Hylia. Once they reached it, Cyrus looked down the waterfall with apprehension and shuddered and put several feet distance between himself and the edge. Salin tried to offer encouragement, but also tried baiting his friend as well. "It's not that far of a drop. And even if you did fall you'd most likely fall into the water. You're not afraid of a little swim, are you?" he said mockingly. Cyrus only glowered at the Zora in answer.

Salin kicked a rock down the falls. As he watched it tumble down into the lake below, something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye. Strung to a nearby tree was a coil of rope. "This will help," Salin called out encouragingly as he tossed the rope to Cyrus. The highlander's face brightened slightly. He began to tie it to the same tree that the Zora pulled it off of. "No sense wasting time up here," he mumbled, making very sure that the knot was secure.

Salin took the rope from the mercenary's hand. "I'll go first," he offered. Cyrus nodded, and watched as the Zora gracefully rappelled down the cliff face. "How can he do that?" the highlander wondered. Once his friend touched bottom and called out, Cyrus knew that it was his turn. His legs were shaking as he gripped the rope so tightly his knuckles turned white. He wished he could close his eyes for the descent.

Still maintaining a death grip on the rope, Cyrus began to very carefully make his way down. He risked a look, which made him slip as his heart jumped. He regained control and was panting with fear. Salin called to him from below, "Don't look down. I'll tell you when you're getting close. Right now, you're about halfway." The mercenary gulped as he began to ease his way down again. The reassuring comments from his friend made the trip a little easier.

After what felt like an eternity to him, the highlander reached the bottom. Almost the instant he did, he fell to his knees and thanked every god he knew of and kissed the ground. Salin smiled and helped his friend up. "It wasn't that bad, was it?" he asked with a grin. Cyrus shook his head and tugged at the rope. "When you get back, up, can you throw this down for me? I may need it," the highlander asked. Salin nodded and slapped Cyrus on the back. "Good bye, my friend. And good luck getting the Water Medallion. The Zora will be eternally grateful for that," he said. Salin then swam up the waterfall and dropped the rope down shortly thereafter. Cyrus wondered just how difficult and how strong he had to be to shoot up the waterfall the way he did.

The young highlander coiled the rope around one of his shoulders and then turned around and surveyed the scenery. Sunlight reflections danced off the cobalt-blue surface of Lake Hylia. Many different kinds of plants lined the shores, and the occasional island poked up out of the water, as if peering above it to make sure it was safe to come out. Birds and insects made their calls and songs while fish leaped out of the water, gulping up flies as they did. Cyrus decided to sit for a while and enjoy it and to relax from the descent that had rattled him so much.

Across the water he could see the cliff face that held up the Gerudo Desert and the Arbiters Grounds. The mercenary huffed at the prospect of another climb. What would inevitably total to four climbs seemed like too many in a year to him, much less all within three days of each other. Off to the side he could see the Giant Cannon. This was one of the tourist attractions of Lake Hylia. This massive machine could blast an individual up the cliffsides that surrounded the Lake and land them safely on the rim. Cyrus had also heard rumor that the Cannon could send someone to the desert as well, but nobody ever really wanted to go there.

He carefully measured the options. Being shot from a cannon sounded very dangerous, but flying through the air would take much less time than scaling the cliff. In addition, if what he heard about just how well-placed the Giant Cannon's shots were, that option carried much less chance of injury.

Before he made his final decision, though, he heard distant splashes in the water. These sounded like whatever was making them was a good deal heavier than the small fish he had seen jumping. The mercenary screwed up his eyes and saw that it was a Zora. He would have just dismissed it, but the sunlight glinted off several jewels that the Zora was wearing, and she had a magenta tint to her skin. Unless there were more like her, Cyrus recognized who this was. If anyone could tell him what this Zora's Sapphire that she had given him would mean it would be her.

"Hey, Ruto!" Cyrus called out, projecting as much as he could because of how far away the princess was. She fell into the water once more and when she surfaced she looked around anxiously. Cyrus called out to her again, and she headed toward him like a shot. "She certainly is a fast swimmer, even for a Zora," Cyrus thought as he saw Princess Ruto rapidly closing distance.

Before the highlander could properly greet the Princess, she bolted out of the water into him and embraced him with a force that winded him and almost knocked him over. "My love! My betrothed!" she exclaimed as she began kissing the bewildered Cyrus. "My- your- what?" the highlander stammered, struggling to free his arms. "Don't tell me that you've forgotten the vows we made to each other, dearest?" Ruto asked, with a little hurt in her voice, yet very heavily laced with affection.

The surprised highlander finally managed to recover from his bewilderment. He pushed Ruto away, gently enough to not offend, but firmly enough to get her loose and let her know that he didn't appreciate the forward approach. "What vows are you talking about?" he finally asked.

"Why Cyrus-that is your name is it not?" she began. The mercenary curtly nodded. The Princess began to reach into his shirt. He snatched her arm before she got too close. "What are you up to?" he growled. The she-Zora seemed entirely unaffected by Cyrus' gruffness. "The Zora's Sapphire is what I was reaching for," she replied directly. "May I see it, please?" The highlander proffered the shining gem into her open hand. He thought that she was acting very strangely and was rather perturbed by her extremely romantic approach to someone she had only met a few days earlier. She barely even knew his name. Nevertheless, he remained polite to her because she was his employer's daughter.

Ruto held the Zora's Sapphire up into the sunlight. It glimmered brilliantly, as if it's greatest wish at that time was to be exposed to the light of the sun. She let it down gently and it fell back onto Cyrus' torso. "It fits you well," she said softly as she caressed his jaw with a webbed hand. "The Zora's Sapphire represents the vow of marriage between the Zora princess and whomever she chooses," she whispered to him as she came closer. Cyrus jolted back and held up the Sapphire by the chain so he could see the gem. He looked at it with shock, which caused him to blurt out, "Is THAT what this jewel means? Why would nobody tell me?"

"I'm afraid I don't know, dear Cyrus," answered Ruto as she approached again. Now Cyrus really wanted to be rid of the Sapphire. Marriage had never been a high priority for him as he felt that his career wouldn't allow him to raise a family. This and that he was going to be married to someone he knew little more about her than her name caused him some distress. Indeed Princess Ruto was very cordial to him, he found her rather attractive, and she was very wealthy but he was extremely put off by how forward she was, and the fact remained that he knew little to nothing else of her personally.

A thought came to Cyrus' mind as he continued staring at the Sapphire. "If she gave this to me so idly," he wondered, "how many other hands has this jewel been in?" He looked down at Ruto, who was fawning on him and stroking him. Her breathing was deep and peaceful. The mercenary untensed his shoulders. He wasn't planning on marrying Ruto at all, but he thought it would be best if he retained the Zora's Sapphire. Judging by how Ruto had so quickly given it to him, it could well end up in the wrong hands one day if he had it returned to her.

The princess tugged on Cyrus' arm. "Come with me, I know the perfect place for our wedding," she said. Cyrus shook her loose and stepped back a pace. "The only place I'm really interested in right now is the Arbiter's Grounds," he answered.

The princess gasped. "How dangerous! What for?" she asked, pulling the highlander close and looking up at the desert. As persistent as she was, Cyrus wasn't going to give up his own personal space. He shrugged off the lover once again. To answer her question, Cyrus was as brief as possible. From what he had heard of her at least, Ruto had a loose tongue and he felt that might jeopardize his mission. "Something your father sent me to do," he replied tersely.

Ruto smiled. "An act of valor to prove your worthiness for my hand, perhaps?" she asked as she placed a hand on Cyrus' shirt where the Zora's Sapphire was. "No," Cyrus answered curtly as he removed her hand. He was holding his patience as long as he could from her continuing advances. "It's not?" the princess asked, now sounding hopeful. "Whatever it is, then, I shall accompany you!"

Finally, Cyrus' inner feelings showed up from behind the polite facade. He laughed out loud, and quickly tried to stifle it so as not to offend too deeply. The princess really didn't seem to mind, however. She still had the same sweet expression on her face and her head was tilted to the side very slightly. "I can't let you do that," the Hylian said once the mirth drained from his face. "No Zora can ever make the trek through the desert and come out alive. You coming with me is completely out of the question." In spite of not wanting the Princess to come to begin with, he told her the truth. "You'll be sun dried within hours," he added.

"Our love will keep my fins damp," the princess answered, sounding like she was stating a very obvious fact. The mercenary had to stifle another laugh. "She sounds like a character from a bad romance story," he thought, trying to restrain himself. "Completely out of the question," Cyrus firmly repeated. For the first time since they met again, Ruto took a step back away from him. "Very well," she said. The highlander thought he almost saw a tear form in one of Ruto's midnight-black eyes. "I shall await your return, dearest. Return soon, my champion," the princess hung on the last two words for a moment and then very passionately kissed Cyrus on the lips. The mercenary's eyes widened in surprise.

When the Princess was through, she turned and left without a word. As soon as he was sure she wasn't going to turn around, Cyrus began to wipe off his mouth with his sleeve. Almost as soon as he had started, the Zora whipped around to face him. Cyrus froze. He thought that what he was doing must seem extremely rude to the princess. His mind raced for a solution. Doing the first thing that came to mind, he inhaled sharply and faked a sneeze.

When he finished, Ruto asked "What will you give me, Cyrus?"

"Excuse me?" asked the mercenary, a little confused and upset that she wasn't leaving.

"I believe it's tradition among your people to give your fiancee a ring before matrimony, is it not? However," she paused and widened her and and looked at the webbing. "I don't think I could wear one."

Cyrus lowered his arm. He managed to stammer out "Er… I'll think about it." He winced slightly when he said this. He thought he was probably encouraging the princess with that comment. To his relief, Ruto only smiled at him and then dove into the water and swam away.

The mercenary turned toward the cannon, shaking his head. This was certainly the most interesting thing that had happened to him in several days. As he approached the Great Cannon the operator came into view. He was an elderly man dressed up in a vibrant pink and chartreuse harlequin outfit. His gaudy makeup enhanced the smug smirk on his face. He had been watching the whole exchange and was thoroughly enjoying himself. "I'll break your legs if you say anything," Cyrus growled. The clown's expression didn't change with the threat.


	2. Chapter 2

Cyrus picked himself up out of the sand of the desert. He had opted for taking the Great Cannon to the Gerudo Desert, but it proved to be a much more expensive venture than he had hoped. It cost him thirty rupees for the trip itself, another thirty to actually get the Cannoneer to admit that his services extended to the Desert, and another five to keep him from singing a merry limerick about the mercenary and the Zora Princess.

The Hylian dusted himself off and spat out some sand. Even though it was only a few short miles from the cool Lake Hylia, the desert was scorchingly hot and arid. He looked up at the heedless and blazing afternoon sun. It seemed so much brighter up here. There was very little else in the desert with the exception of sand dunes and a few tenacious little scrub plants. The only remarkable landmarks were some ruins scored by the many sandstorms they had seen and the Arbiter's Grounds. Cyrus was very thankful that the Arbiter's Grounds were visible. Having a goal that he could see would make the trek much easier.

The highlander walked for a few miles. The desert landscape made it seem to Cyrus that he was no closer to the Arbiter's Grounds than he was when he started. He felt the moisture draining out of his throat. He would have gratefully taken any droplet of water at that time. He began to look around in hopes that he might spot an oasis somewhere. Unfortunately, none were to be found so Cyrus considered other options. The highlander regarded the desert grasses. Many years of living in the wilderness as a mercenary had taught the Hylian how to thrive anywhere, including the desert.

Gripping a large fistful of grass, Cyrus began with a procedure that would hopefully extract some water. A few drops came of it, which the highlander greedily lapped up. He promptly grabbed more of the grass and drank until he was satisfied. With his thirst slaked, the harsh sun didn't seem as bad.

Several hours later, the sun rested atop the mountains off to the East. Cyrus could almost make out a more distinct outline of his destination now. Forging ahead he was hopeful of the cool that was always the promise of a desert night. His thoughts were interrupted as a cone of sand erupted in front of him. The highlander quickly shielded his eyes and once the dust cleared, he could see a Gerudo standing before him.

All Gerudo were female, and usually thieves by profession. They wore billowing clothing to ward off the harsh desert sun. The top the one before Cyrus wore was small, revealing her shoulders and midsection. She had bright orange hair, dark brown skin and had a purple veil over her face. She menacingly pointed her pike in Cyrus' direction. The mercenary promptly drew his sword. He knew about the Gerudo, and he had fought many of them in the past. Either Cyrus was going to empty his pockets, or there was going to be blood before either of them walked away.

"This is our desert. You belong to us now," the thief stated.

"You've lowered yourselves to slavecatching, have you?" Cyrus asked with an edge to his voice. Before the Gerudo could respond, the mercenary battered aside the pike and placed his blade on his assailant's throat. He could hear that her breathing was still regular behind her veil. She was hiding something. Suddenly, several other cones of sand blasted into the air and Cyrus stood there, surrounded by the beautiful thieves. He had been in binds like this one before, and he was already calculating how he could escape.

The mercenary considered what he could do. He thought the best course would be to cut his way through the one in front of him, take her pike and fend off the remainder with great arcing swings. He would close distance on any that were distanced from the others, knock away their polearms with his and then use his sword once he had gotten close enough. Right before he was going to carry out his plan, however he heard the hoofbeats of about a dozen horses with their riders fast approaching.

Cyrus cursed as he dropped his sword. If he resisted, there would be no escaping alive. He then had a bag placed over his head and somebody kicked his legs out from beneath him and tied his hands together.

The Gerudo dragged Cyrus through the desert behind a horse. The sand making its way into his clothes coupled with the heat of the merciless desert sun caused the highlander no small degree of annoyance. They stopped several times, but any time Cyrus began to stand up the company moved forward again, letting him fall to the ground to be dragged even further. The highlander assumed that they were purposefully doing this only to make him feel helpless. Having been in similar situations, he was yet undaunted, but he gave up trying to rise and remained prostrate for the remainder of the journey.

The mercenary's patience finally ran out. "How much farther?" he demanded of his captors. The did not answer him. He could hear them talking in hushed tones, which were muffled by their veils and the bag over his face. "I asked you a question!" Cyrus shouted as he called the thieves something very degrading. Almost immediately someone grabbed him by the collar and stood him up as the bag was torn from his face with a force that jostled his head. The Hylian could now see that it was late evening, and he was faced toward some mountains. He then knew that he was being taken to the Gerudo Fortress.

"You'd best show more respect to those who own your life!" hissed the Gerudo standing before him. Cyrus could be gentlemanly at times, but he had no love for the Gerudo and wouldn't show any decency to his captors. "I might if you deserved any, you thieving, honorless harlot!" Cyrus growled just quietly enough for the thief to hear him and let the words sink in as he spat into one of her eyes. His guard flinched slightly and then prodded him sharply in the stomach with her pike. The highlander doubled over and fell down on his knees. He looked up with the dirtiest face he could manage, which was met with the haft of his captor's weapon, knocking him unconscious.

When Cyrus awoke he was in a prison cell with his arms splayed out and chained to the wall at a height which prevented him from completely sitting or standing, a position to cause as much discomfort as possible. The bars before him looked like they were forged recently, as there was no rust and the iron was still a bright silvery gray. The bricks around him were the dull orange of sandstone. Cyrus grinned. Even if he was locked in here for days he could slowly scrape away at the fragile stone and make his way out.

This glimmer of hope was dashed when he looked out of his cell to one side and saw a guard leaning back in her chair. A golden candelabra shone its weak light through the prison corridor. The mercenary further examined his surroundings. There were no other prisoners in his cell, but there were signs of previous occupancy. A pewter plate was on the floor, which was empty save for only a few stale breadcrumbs. The sight reminded Cyrus that he hadn't eaten in over a day. His stomach grumbled with hunger.

"Hey!" the Hylian called out to the guard. No answer came. He called again, but still no reply. "I'm talking to you!" Cyrus barked as he turned his head to face the guard. The guard still gave no indication that she heard him, but instead she slumped over in her chair and tumbled to the floor. Cyrus couldn't see it before, but now without the Gerudo obstructing it, there was an empty bottle of fine wine resting on the table next to the guard's post. The mercenary hung his head and groaned. Not because he wasn't going to be answered, but because poor soldiers, even if they were his enemies, always frustrated him.

Several minutes later, Cyrus awoke from a doze when he heard the cell block door open. He heard the soldier that entered curse in her native tongue and kick the drunken guard to rouse her. The other sat up with a start and yelped "Escape!" as she scanned around blearily and then looked up at her superior. Both were now in Cyrus' view. He could see the drunken guard was arrayed in purple like most Gerudo soldiers, but the other was clad in emerald green. She wore no veil like her comrades did, but had green lipstick and eye makeup on.

The green dressed one threw down a deku nut. The flash momentarily blinded Cyrus, but he could see that the shock put some sense back into the guard. "Ready for relief, ma'am!" she piped as she saluted crisply. Her superior on rolled her eyes. "Get outta here," she commanded and the other hastily procured her weapon and stumbled away.

The remaining Gerudo heaved an exasperated sigh as she approached Cyrus cell. The highlander leered at her as she opened the door and entered his small space. "You must be that mercenary pig that the others dragged in last night," she said looking him over. "And you must be the hag that runs this dust pit you call a prison," he replied coldly. The other scoffed and approached. "You'll learn very quickly to watch your attitude here," she began. "My name is Gaiele, but to you, I'm only to be addressed as 'Master' or 'Ma'am,' do I make myself clear?" the Gerudo asked with an obvious air of authority.

"You deserve none such titles," Cyrus replied in icy tones. "Cutpurse," he added, sinking his teeth into every syllable. His captor struck him, asking again, with great emphasis, "Am I clear?" The mercenary was rarely so dark as to make the reply he did, but he had absolutely no respect for the Gerudo. He only saw them as common criminals and thieves, as well as enemies to the Hylian crown. The highlander might have been a mercenary, but his loyalties lay with the kingdom of Hyrule. After staring her down for a moment, the Hylian gave his answer "May Ruha, the death goddess of Trilby take you," he said quietly, almost in a whisper and with as much force as he could muster behind it.

Anger solidified on the soldier's face. She stared Cyrus hard in his deep blue eyes and then swiftly kicked him in the fork. The mercenary howled in pain as he doubled over. He couldn't fall to the ground because the shackles were holding him up, which only exacerbated his pain. "You will learn to obey your masters soon enough," the Gerudo cooly said as she left Cyrus' cell, slamming the door behind her. She left him alone, and promptly a new guard came and assumed her post.

The Hylian was still groaning in pain. Tendrils of agony were coursing all around his center. He thought he could hear the guard laughing at him, and he shot her a sharp look through his throbbing pain. "What are you laughing at?" he spat. Though veiled, Cyrus could tell that the guard had a wicked smile spreading across her face. "When I get outta here," the mercenary panted, "I'm going to take that stupid grin off your face."

"Ooh, feisty," the Gerudo answered mockingly. Anger was now blinding his pain, and the highlander began to rattle his shackles, attempting to loose them from the grip of the sandstone bricks. The guard rose and stood just in front of the cell. She took the keys from the table and dangled them in Cyrus' view. "You want these?" she goaded. The Hylian ceased struggling and stared down the captor, as if his very gaze would burn her to death. "Hmmm… I love a wild man," the Gerudo purred, further baiting the already enraged mercenary.

Cyrus began to utter every curse of his native highlander language, never taking his eyes off of the keys that were dangled so tantalizingly within his view. The angry highlander started to thrash in his bonds once again, roaring all manner of foul speech. He had been captured before, and nearly every time he was so restrained with an equal lack of dignity. Now the guard had opened the cell and brandished the keys as close as she could to the Hylian without him being able to thrash into her or to bite the keys to get a grip on them. "I might let you out if you're a good boy," the Gerudo suggested condescendingly.

The mercenary had had enough several minutes ago, but now he could get a shot in. He propped his feet up on the wall behind him and then launched off. Before his kick could hit the guard, she jumped back and he was stopped by his restraints, causing him to yowl in pain. He felt as if his arms would be torn from their sockets. The guard leaned in and held the keys even closer to cause further irritation. "You're braver than you should be when your prey is tied down," Cyrus grumbled testily. At this the guard only laughed at the trapped Hylian as she left the cell and put the keys down her shirt.

The mercenary hung his head in exhaustion. He was still determined to escape, but his thrashing coupled with his hunger and thirst had totally drained his strength. Finally admitting defeat, at least for now, Cyrus allowed himself to relax and to doze off despite how uncomfortable he was.

Some time later, the mercenary was awakened as he heard the creak of his cell door unlocked. He fixed a hawklike gaze on a pair of Gerudo guards dragging in another prisoner. He was also Hylian, about middle aged, with a beard brought about by long weeks of imprisonment. He appeared weak and underfed, with eyes that made him look like he was tired of life. His forest green outfit had been worn from his time in this desert prison. They bound him to another pair of shackles hanging from the wall. This other prisoner hung limp in his bonds, but he was still alive and conscious. Cyrus could see that there was blood in his mouth with scars and burns all over his body, obvious signs of some rounds in a torture chamber.

"Dogs!" Cyrus hissed at the guards. One ignored, but the other only threw a rock at the mercenary, which struck him in the ribs. He shrugged off the blow and leered in response. As soon as they left, he looked at his cellmate. He thought he could see tears rolling down the other's face.

There was still a guard sitting at the table near the door. She took a long pull on a bottle of wine. Cyrus wondered if this was the same one he had seen pass out on his first day. Already she was teetering in her seat. Evidently the other prisoner was looking at her, too. "What I wouldn't give for some of that wine…" he trailed off. The highlander struggled up to the best standing position that he could and addressed the other. "What have they done to you, friend?" The green clad Hylian winced as he moved and then looked at Cyrus. His face wore an expression that said that he had absolutely no desire to talk about what had just happened to him.

Just then the pair heard the guard stir. She slurred "No talking, prisoners," at them. She suddenly swayed in her chair and then clung to the table for balance. "Not another earthquake," she grumbled, trying to maintain her equilibrium. The mercenary chucked, but the other prisoner had long since had his sense of humor beaten out of him.

After hanging on the wall bored for what felt to him like hours, Cyrus thought he'd have some fun with the drunkard to try and raise his companion's spirits. "Hey, guard." The Gerudo's attention was now fixed on Cyrus. She took another drink before she blearily mumbled "Whaddya want?"

The highlander grinned as he thought of something to say. "I heard that you Gerudo are all women because all your men kill themselves when they see just what rotten warriors your people make!"

"Shaddup!" shrieked the guard as she flung her wine bottle at the mercenary. The bottle shattered on one of the bars of the cell and landed all over the floor with its remaining wine. She blearily glared at Cyrus while he roared with laughter. "If you let me loose I'll help you clean that up," he mockingly suggested with a smirk. "I don't think Gaiele would appreciate you messing up the floor."

The guard rose from her seat and stumbled over to the cell, pike in hand. "I'll kill ya!" she bellowed, about to throw the weapon at Cyrus. The other prisoner shrank in fear for his life, while the highlander only tried to egg on the Gerudo. As expected due to the guard's drunken state, the pike missed the pair entirely and blunted itself against the wall as it fell to the floor. Cyrus saw an opportunity coming as the guard was angrily fumbling with the lock to try and enter the cell and retrieve her weapon.

Just as he was getting ready, he heard Gaiele's voice boom down the hall. He cursed as his hopes were dashed. "Mei, if I catch you drinking one more time on the job I'll feed you to the prisoners!" The guard tried to regain her composure as she stumbled around to face her superior. Her salute was just as drunken as she was and she accidentally struck herself in the head. Cyrus sniggered. "Move it," growled the warden. The guard, who was evidently named Mei hobbled her way out of the prison block.

Gaiele heaved an exasperated sigh as she watched the retreating guard. The other prisoner averted his eyes and submissively looked at the ground. Cyrus glowered, getting ready to kick the prison warden if she got too close. She kept a watchful eye on the mercenary as she unhooked his cellmate's shackles from the wall. "Chow time, you know where to go," she said gruffly to the other as he shuffled his way out the door. "As for you," she said, turning to Cyrus. His face gave him away, she wasn't going to release him anyway, but if she saw his expression of hatred she would not have let him out.

"The wine and glass on the floor can be your food and drink until you learn to keep your head down," she finished. Cyrus looked at her and grabbed the chains he was hung on and pulled slightly to raise himself up. "I've been in prisons where they wouldn't even give me that," he began, grinding his teeth into several words. "You're at least smart enough to know that I'd make you envious of the other man you put in here if you didn't have me on the wall."

"He was like you when we first brought him in here," Gaiele answered. "Now he's a broken man. Just as all men should be." Cyrus howled with laughter. He had remembered just how femenistic these desert thieves could be. He abruptly stopped and stared down his captor.

"What are you going to do now?" Cyrus rasped, his throat beginning to hurt from lack of water. "Ransom? Torture? Whipping? Or did you have something else in mind?" He secretly hoped that they would put him to work somewhere. Not necessarily because it would be a chance to get out of his cell, but because he would be able to use any tool they put into his hands as a weapon.

"Remember how I am to be addressed, lout!" Gaiele answered with a slightly raised voice and with a good deal of authority in her speech. "Until you break, you're not going anywhere."

"You might as well break diamonds," the highlander growled. The warden only laughed at his retort. "All have said something similar. Many have made threats of escape. All of them are either buried in the sand or like your cellmate now," she said as another guard entered the area. Gaiele didn't notice until she saluted crisply and announced "Reporting for guard duty, Ma'am!" She spoke with the enthusiasm of someone who had barely started this line of work.

The warden turned at looked at her, then back to Cyrus. "What are you still doing here? Bugger off," Cyrus grunted at the warden. This particularly foul comment stuck Gaiele's nerves as Cyrus had intended. "WHAT did you say to me?" she demanded. The other guard had lowered her pike and pointed it at Cyrus. "You heard me, ya harpy," the highlander hissed. The same look of rage was forming on the warden's face that the mercenary had seen on his first day. He was ready for what was going to be next.

Right as Gaiele was about to kick him in the fork, he crossed one leg and stopped the assault. Cyrus then brought his full weight forward into a great kick and knocked the warden on her back. Taking advantage of the shock both Gerudo were under, he kicked up Mei's pike that was on the floor so he could get a grip on it. He cursed because of the limited movement his bonds offered, but he still hoped to do some damage.

Cyrus began to swing the weapon back and forth with one hand. It was difficult to do, and the blows would be superficial yet they would still be painful. As the warden was rising from the floor, the other guard swiped at the mercenary's attacks, hoping to disarm him. He was able to avoid the counters from his untrained foe. Gaiele had now risen, and he took advantage of the couple of feet of reach that his bonds would allow him and he took a jab at her.

His blow missed, and the other seized the weapon and began hitting Cyrus with the butt end. The mercenary was quickly incurring many bruises from the onslaught. Sharp pains erupted from everywhere he was hit, even worse where he was struck multiple times. The final attack was a thrust aimed at his head, slamming it against the wall and knocking him unconscious.

Gaiele wiped a little sweat off her head. "Put him leg shackles," she tersely commanded as she left the room. "Yes, Ma'am," the guard answered emphatically, hurriedly procuring some leg irons and securing them fast.

Hours later when he recovered, the mercenary blinked out his eyes. He was sore everywhere but he wasn't going to let the pain bother him. He jerked his legs a few times, hoping in vain that he could shake the new leg shackles loose, but to no avail. The highlander heaved a sigh as he tried to shift into a more comfortable position. He looked around. His cell mate had returned, head hung low like before, offering no indication as to whether he even knew there was anyone else alive in the world or even cared. There was a guard at the door, but rather than sitting in her chair, she was standing attention in front of the door, pike shouldered. Cyrus presumed it was the same one that had been there for his flogging earlier.

Tired, frustrated, thirsty, and now battered the highlander felt his strength waning, but his resolve was still strong. "I've gotten worse beatings trying to weave through crowds in the markets," Cyrus shouted at the guard, but she ignored him. He tried a few more insults, making each fouler than the last, but the guard remained unabashed. She didn't even acknowledge him.

"Give it a rest," the cellmate said weakly. Cyrus started. He had only heard the other speak once before and had thought his companion was asleep. Ordinarily the highlander would have given a more courteous response, but his frustrations had built themselves into a seething, dull anger. "Or what? Let them win like you did?" he managed to answer with a gravelly voice. His throat was now very sore from thirst and frequent shouting.

The mercenary relaxed slightly and looked toward the other. His eyes almost made him seem like a dead man. Cyrus hoped to engage him in conversation somehow to ease his cares. "Where are you from?" he rasped.

"Nowhere in particular," replied the other emotionlessly. "My family were river merchants. We always lived on our barge and never stayed in one place too long."

"Really? Were you ever in Gleight of Trilby? I grew up there," Cyrus asked hopefully.

The cellmate for the first time made eye contact with the mercenary. "I have. It was a nice place. The people there were as hard as rocks and rather short with us, but other than that I would have liked to have settled down there." He had just realized what ill he had said about the mercenary's people.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean…" he started.

"It's alright," Cyrus chuckled. "I've heard worse-much worse- said about my people over the years. True the highlanders can be a hard folk, but once you gain their trust they are as warm and friendly as any and loyal to a fault."

The cellmate gave a sad smile and looked at the ground again. The highlander hoped that he wasn't breaching a touchy subject for his cellmate with his next question. "How did you end up here?" Cyrus asked.

The other prisoner didn't move. After a moment he answered "There's not much to it. I was just travelling down the river when we fell into an ambush."

"Did you have any guards?"

"No, we were in Zora territory. We thought we would be safe."

"You were in Zoran lands?" Cyrus asked with some concern. Gerudo weren't known to venture into areas that were expressly settled by another people, but then again they were, in Cyrus' mind at least, like any other bandits. A thought blazed across his mind just as he was thinking, prompted by the mention of the seafolk name. "The Sapphire!" Cyrus blurted as he looked down at his shirt. As expected, it was gone.

The guard stirred slightly and the other prisoner looked at him. "I can't believe I've lost it again!" the highlander moaned.

"Did they take something of yours?" the other prisoner asked. This was the first attempt at humor that Cyrus heard from him. "Yes, something unique," the mercenary answered. He didn't know what it was, but something about his cellmate made him trust him enough to tell him just what it was that was taken. "It was the Zora's Sapphire," he whispered to ensure the guard wouldn't hear.

The green clad prisoner stared at Cyrus. "Talking about that here will only get you killed," he declared somberly. His eyes widened as he say the seriousness in Cyrus' expression. He whispered over to the highlander. "You don't mean that it's THE-"

Cyrus cut him off with a sharp nod.

"You're really going to be in for it if they find out that that's the genuine Zora's Sapphire and what that makes you," the prisoner quietly hissed. "But then they'll put you up for ransom because you're a prince, I guess and that will almost guarantee your getting out of here," he finished wistfully.

The pair sat in silence for a while. "How did you even come to get the Sapphire?" the cellmate finally asked. Cyrus related the events to the other, keeping his voice as low and quiet as he could, trying to ensure that the guard wouldn't even know they were taking. Through the midst of their conversation, the prisoner seemed to have life flow back into him. He began to stand up as straight as he could. Color returned to his face and eyes and emotion found its way back into his speech. He even laughed quietly at a few points in Cyrus' narrative.

When the mercenary finally finished, he asked the prisoner "I don't even think I got your name, river merchant."

"My name is Troas. And yours?"

The mercenary drew himself up slightly and answered "I'm Cyrus, son of Bruga."

The imprisoned merchant looked stunned. "You don't mean that you're the son of the chieftain of the Gleight clan?" he whispered to keep the guard from hearing.

"The one and only," the highlander answered with his lip curling slightly.

The prisoner let out a short, quiet laugh. "Then you're twice a prince. I feel like I should bow!" he said jokingly

"Actually, I'm no prince by any right," replied the mercenary. "I ran away from Gleight to seek my fortune and became a mercenary. I still consider myself a member of the clan, but I doubt that I would be accepted back so readily as the Laird's heir since I ran away unannounced like I did. And as for prince over the Zoras," he paused and sighed "I have no intention of marrying Princess Ruto. I only kept the Zora's Sapphire because I thought that I could keep it out of the wrong hands since the Princess seemed to give it away so idly. Wonderful job I've been doing of that, thus far," he finished sarcastically.

"They'd probably keep that in their treasure room," Troas stated. "It's always under lock and key and with a good many guards. But you know what they say: when there's a will there's a way, eh?"

Cyrus was surprised. In a matter of minutes, Troas was a broken man that seemed as if he were tired of life transformed to a person with an optimism that was rarely seen. "You know where it is?" asked the mercenary, beginning to form a plan in his mind.

"Oh, certainly milord," the river merchant cheerfully piped. He lowered his voice to make sure they weren't heard. "Whenever we walk to our meals, we must pass by it. When we do, one of the guards tantalizingly brandishes our treasures before us while we're all chained together. It's something of a demoralization tactic of theirs."

The highlander was becoming so excited he was forgetting his hunger, thirst, and pain. "And my weapons?" he asked quietly, yet with curious enthusiasm. "Where would they put those?"

Troas grinned. "Right next to the treasure room. They do the same thing with our weapons as they do with our valuables," he answered with a mischievous edge to his voice. He had a plan in mind of his own.

The two excitedly discussed their plans with each other, occasionally looking at the guard to make sure she hadn't moved any closer to hear them, and they eventually reached a decision. "The next meal should be in a few minutes," Troas whispered. "I'll be sure to bring you something. If I act more downtrodden than usual, they might let me stay in here without chains."

Both waited patiently for Troas' mealtime release. They tried not to seem any different than they had previous to their conversation. Cyrus would appear to be fuming, staring down any guard that would make eye contact with them and sputtering insults at them. Troas would keep his head down and look like what he wanted more than anything at that time was death's embrace.

Sure enough, a pair of new guards entered and half-dragged the river merchant out to his meal. The mercenary waited rather impatiently for his cellmate to return, but before he did, another guard entered and spoke to the one on duty. They conversed in hushed tones and then both looked at Cyrus. The on-duty prison guard took a small bag from the other and nervously approached his cell.

"What do you want?" the Hylian asked gruffly.

There was a slight quiver in the guard's voice. "Gaiele feels that with you chained down like this you are fine to have some sustenance." The Gerudo opened the sack and proffered a stale crust of bread and a small flask of water.

"Just enough to keep me alive?" Cyrus huffed. "I'll not take anything from the like of you. If you try and force feed me I'll take your fingers with the food," he threatened.

The guard heaved a sigh. Her veil fluttered slightly from the breath. "It's not worth suffering for the sake of pride, highlander. It's not as if you'll ever get out of here to endure the ridicule anyway."

"No," the mercenary responded flatly.

Nervously, the guard assigned to feed Cyrus looked toward the other that just entered the room. She only looked back and nodded. The one feeding the mercenary let out a quivering breath and put the bread toward his face. The Hylian turned his head any time the guard brought the bread toward his mouth, occasionally taking a snap at her fingers and spitting out any bread he may have caught in his mouth.

"Do you want to die of hunger? Just eat," the Gerudo grumbled. She added, more to reassure herself than to coax Cyrus into taking his meal, "Why would you make my job difficult? I'm probably the only one here who's doing anything nice for you." The highlander let out one bark of a laugh. He cursed in his mind when he felt the pain in his dry throat.

The guard's face showed a little bit of light when she heard Cyrus' voice rasp. "Ah, maybe you'll take some water?" she said almost hopefully. Cyrus refused the drink just as he had the bread, turning his head away. "Just shove his head against the wall. He can't hurt you!" called out the other guard with frustration. Realization appeared on the caretaker's face as she pushed the mercenary's head against the sandstone.

She eventually managed to get some water into Cyrus' mouth. It was the best thing he had felt in the many days he'd been imprisoned. The cool of the liquid chased away the dryness of his mouth. He could feel strength returning to him, even though he didn't swallow. Despite his disdain for his captors, he was about to swallow the water, when something caught his attention. Something was strange about the taste.

The mercenary spat his water out on the guard who let out a yelp and jumped back. "There's more than sand in that water. What in the name of Farore did you put in that?" he demanded.

His guard appeared shocked. "I don't know what you're talking about!" she protested. Feeling a little thirsty herself, she took a small drink of the water. The other guard started forward. "Tastes fine to me," said the caretaking guard. Suddenly she stumbled over to the side. "Oh no," she gasped as her vision began to distort. The other guard rushed forward to support her and keep her from falling on the floor. "Lia, you idiot!" she grumbled, supporting the other and helping her out of the cell block, leering at Cyrus.

Cyrus quickly realized that he was now totally unguarded, with the door to his cell open and the guards' weapons nearby. He cursed that he was locked up. If it weren't for being bound to the wall he would have been as good as free. He began to rattle in his shackles, hands and feet, hoping to dislodge himself. The highlander thought he felt his right hand loosening, but all the others remained fast. He directed his attention to his loosening bond until he heard footsteps echoing down the hall.

Carefully listening, he heard that the footsteps weren't even. Stumbling down the hall came the guard Mei, grumbling the whole while. "Why's the bottle empty?" she growled letting it fall to the floor and shatter. Cyrus hoped that he could get the guard to let him out. "Tavern's that way," he joked, tilting his head back the way she came. Mei turned her bleary eyes to face the mercenary. "Shaddup," she mumbled. "Show some civility, you stupid inebriate," the highlander said mockingly with a little hurt in his voice.

The Gerudo hobbled over to Cyrus. "I'm gonna knock your teeth out you rotten mongrel, er... mongren rottel…" she stammered throwing a fist at the mercenary and bloodying it against the wall. "You're a prisonder, you can't fight back," she angrily slurred, taking another shot. This one glanced off of Cyrus' arm. The Hylian took his opportunity, yanking his right hand free from its bond and catching the next blow before it landed. "Let go of me!" the Gerudo shrieked trying to force the hand off.

"No ya don't," Cyrus said with a grin. Not because he enjoyed causing the guard pain, but because freedom might be within reach. He just hoped that another guard wouldn't come. He pulled the drunkard closer and put his strong arm around her neck into a chokehold. The Gerudo couldn't manage the breath to call for help. She soon faded out of consciousness. Rather than let her fall to the floor, however, Cyrus supported her weight against the wall and held her up with what little movement his bonds would allow.

With his free hand, he searched the guard for keys. It was very difficult since only one limb had a full range of motion. "Ah!" he breathed once he found them in a pocket. The mercenary began to try the various keys in his shackles, hoping to liberate himself before anyone could respond to the commotion. He managed to get his other hand and his right leg free when he could hear more footsteps down the hall. He was thankful that he could only hear one person, but that could still jeopardize this whole venture. He slipped the keys into his own pocket and reached for Mei's weapon when he saw Gaiele round the corner.

Not even addressing the mercenary, she instantly screamed "Alarm! Escape!" while she drew a scimitar once Cyrus procured the drunken guard's pike. They stared each other down for a moment when two other guards came bounding in. "Back off!" the highlander barked, jabbing at the others with the pike. Each of them in turn deflected his blows, but they wouldn't come any closer so as to not get hit. "Fools! Put the nightdrift on your blades!" Gaiele ordered.

While the warden slashed at Cyrus hoping to disarm him, the other guards put vials of some green liquid on their pikes and resumed the attack. One blow gave the highlander a superficial cut on his left arm. "Ha! Is that all you got?" he said, inflicting a much deeper wound on one guard, who collapsed on the floor, clutching her stomach. Just as he was getting ready of another strike, the Hylian began to feel dizzy. His vision blurred and he dropped the pike. He soon lost his senses completely.

In all of the violence, nobody had noticed Troas enter. He had a few options right now. His mind raced to carefully weigh them and see what would be the best thing for him to do. He could get the wounded guard's pike and fight off the remaining guard and the warden. His past made him into a good fighter and might be able to hold up to them, although his combat skills were rusty from being imprisoned for so long. Or he could continue to play the part of a broken prisoner. The river merchant then saw the lump in Cyrus' pocket, correctly assuming they were the keys, hearing them jingle as the mercenary toppled over.

Another idea came to the merchant's mind as to what he could do.

Troas gagged himself and vomited on the floor. The standing guard and warden whipped around and groaned as they saw the river merchant kneeling weakly on the floor, clutching his stomach. "Wuss," huffed Gaiele, who dragged the prisoner into the cell, taking care not to step in the sick. "Get a bucket for the prisoner and another guard down here," she ordered.

"What about Yisha?" the other asked, gesturing at the wounded guard. "And can you give me the keys to lock these two back down?" she continued. Gaiele responded with exasperation. "Yeah, get Yisha out, too. And leave the door for later. These two aren't going anywhere. That one," she said pointing to Troas, "Is probably too sick to move. The hothead won't come off the nightdrift for another hour or so." The guard mumbled in assent, dragging Yisha away. Gaiele remained, looking at the vomit in disgust.

As she began to depart, Troas took his chance. He rushed forward and took a discarded pike. "Hey," he said to the warden. As she turned to look at him, he ran her through with the weapon. Gaiele fell to the floor without as sound. The river merchant then quickly tore a sleeve off of his decaying shirt and bound the unconscious Mei, who still hadn't even stirred. Carefully watching his back, he then took a flask he had stolen and put a little of its contents down Cyrus' throat.

The mercenary noisily sputtered. His vision was still blurry and he was still slightly weakened from the drug, but he could stand on his own. "What in the world…" he began. "Nightdrift," Troas explained as he worked on the highlander's last shackle. "You ever wonder how Gerudo multiply if they're all women? They drug the prisoners with it and then…"

"Ok, I got it," Cyrus cut him off. He shook his head and blinked his eyes hard to try and clear the effects of the substance. It was in vain, but he was desperate for escape and wouldn't wait. "I don't know the way around here. Lead on," the mercenary said to Troas, stumbling to the door. Cyrus grabbed his head as a sudden sensation of tunnel vision came upon him. "Easy now," Troas said caringly, keeping the Hylian from falling over. "The potion took most of the edge off the nightdrift, but it is some pretty strong stuff," the river merchant paused for a moment. "But you highlanders come off of this kind of drug pretty quickly, yes?"

Rather than answer, Cyrus impatiently ordered "There's no time for this banter. We need to get moving," as he stood up. His vision still wasn't quite clear, but the rest of his senses were returning to their proper order, including his balance. He saw that Yisha's pike was still left behind, but Gaiele's scimitar was also present. He opted for the sword and the pair moved as quickly yet with great caution out of the cell block.

The mercenary stopped Troas before he rounded a corner. Two guards were flanking the door ahead of them, both armed with pikes. "After we get past them, then where do we go?" Cyrus whispered. Troas scratched his beard. "We'll go to the left down the hall. There shouldn't be too many guards, but move carefully. After we go past two doors, we take a right. The armory and treasure room are that way. Those will be pretty heavily guarded, but I have an idea to get us past them. After we get our stuff and your gem, we can head out through the stable. The Gerudo like to keep all their armaments right next to each other, so the armory is connected to the stable. Once we each have a horse we just need to beat these thieves across the desert."

"Great, but how do we take the guards down before they raise an alarm?"

"We don't have to take any guards down just yet," The river merchant began. Cyrus gave him a puzzled look. "Swallow your pride," Troas said with a grin. "You'll occasionally see slaves wandering around here. They all have ankle irons on, luckily I found us two pair. If you can keep your fiery head under control and act like a slave for a few minutes, we should be fine. Of course, we can't be slaves and get into the treasure room, that's where your part of the plan will come in."

Cyrus nodded. The pair had discussed their plans from earlier, but the mercenary wanted to insure that they both knew what they were doing. "Wait," he hissed before they exited the cell block. "How can we keep our weapons?"

Troas thought as he wiped the blood off his pike on a banner. "I'll think of something. Let's go."

The mercenary was uncertain due to the lack of solid planning on this point, but he decided to trust his guide. As the two shuffled to the door, their leg irons clanking as they went, one of the guards called them to halt. They both lowered their pikes to the ready. "You slaves had better explain yourselves and why you have those weapons," one demanded. Troas wore his haggard and broken facial expression that he had become so accustomed to during his imprisonment. Cyrus only had a blank look on his face that didn't register much other than bored resignation.

"Apologies mistress," began the river merchant in a submissive tone. "Mistresses Paima and Shuey did not find these weapons acceptable and sent us to see if there were better." A guard snatched away Troas' pike. The tip was blunted after Mei had thrown it against the wall several days earlier and never had it repaired. The guard returned the weapon and curtly nodded. "Get a move on," she gruffly commanded.

Cyrus tilted his head in humility as they passed by, but one of the guards tripped him. He felt anger well up inside of him. Taking a deep breath he calmed himself and raised himself up. Both guards were chuckling as the mercenary and river merchant moved ahead.

The pair passed by several more guards as they moved through the fortress. Many asked a similar question as the ones outside the cell block, but each time Troas gave the same response and they believed him. They even caught a glimpse of some other slaves wandering the halls, each one male, and all of them seemed as if they wished to die. "What do these Gerudos do to these people?" Cyrus thought in disgust. His already warm hatred of the desert thieves was quickly growing into hot contempt as they passed by each broken man.

Eventually Cyrus saw two adjoining rooms with large doors and each was guarded by six soldiers. One door was inlaid with gold and the other with various iron carvings of different weapons. These were the armory and the treasure room. The guards before each door held or wore something from the rooms they were guarding. Those in front of the armory all had different weapons than the usual Gerudo pikes. Three had swords and shields usually reserved only for Hylian nobles, one had a morning star, and the other two wielded halberds belonging to Hylian soldiers. Before the treasure room, all the guards were armed with their normal pikes, but each one was wearing a different article of her choosing. To Cyrus' dismay, one wore the Zora's Sapphire. His eye twitched briefly, but he managed to keep his facial expression.

Troas saw the Zoran artifact as well, and he looked at the mercenary with understanding. He also gave a very short, almost imperceptible nod to let Cyrus know that it was now time for his part of the plan. In the cell block, Troas didn't lock the leg irons so the two prisoners would be able to easily remove them when freedom of movement would be needed, as it now was about to be. The mercenary drew a breath and approached the armory.

The highlander dutifully knelt on the ground presenting the scimitar to the guard armed with the morning star. "Please, madam," he began, sounding like what he thought a broken prisoner would sound. "Mistress Shuey did not find this weapon to her liking. She requests a new one."

"Of course not!" the guard boomed. "Shuey uses a pike you imbecile! Only officers use scimitars!" Cyrus winced, as if to seem that he was expecting to be struck. Which he was. The guard drove her knee into the mercenary's bowed head, which knocked him on his back. He rubbed his head to ease the pain when he felt something that made his blood freeze. He opened his eyes and saw that the leg iron had fallen off of one of his ankles. All twelve guards were now looking at him.

"We have escaped slaves!" screamed one of the guards shrilly. "Get the other one, too. He's probably in on it," she added focusing her attention on Troas. Each of the two in bonds quickly removed their leg irons and prepared to fight off six guards for each man. Soon other soldiers from around the fort swarmed in. Both men were having a very difficult time fending off the onslaught. Troas was knocked to the ground about to be finished when he saw a pair of Gerudo sneaking inside of the treasure room.

Hoping it would draw away attention for at least a moment, the river merchant called out, "Hey! Looters!" as he pointed in the direction of the treasure room. The pair of would-be thieves looked in horror as half of the soldiers attacking the two prisoners turned on their sisters. One of the pursuers was the guard wearing the Zora's Sapphire. Cyrus had been taking a close watch of her ever since he saw the jewel hanging from her neck. He quickly grabbed her shoulder and drove his knee into her kidney. She screeched in pain and fell to the floor, and Cyrus seized the artifact and had it around his own neck and inside his shirt in one motion before the Gerudo hit the floor.

The mercenary was now invigorated by his success. He swung his stolen scimitar in mighty strokes, battering back jabbing pikes. More guards trickled in, though. The pair's strength was waning, those that were trying to steal out of the treasure room were fighting desperately as well. There was no sense in submitting to capture for them. The punishment for the desert race for theft from one of their own was death.

As several pikes and a Hylian sword were about to come down on Troas, he shouted out before he could be ended. "Stop! Gaiele lies dead! Who will claim her place?"

"Fool!" Cyrus thought as he fended off another blow. "What good could that possibly do?" Sure enough, the river merchant's statement caused each one of the Gerudo around him to check their attacks long enough for him to act. Still laying on the ground, Troas swung his pike around and knocked the legs out from beneath all of those standing around him. He leapt to his feet and began to dispatch any that began to rise.

The tide of Gerudo soldiers was tapering off. The alarm must not have been thought important enough to warrant the attention of many more of the fortress' personnel. Suddenly, the voice of a Gerudo rang out. "Cease this madness!" As soon as they heard the voice, all of the soldiers stopped and stood at attention, including those attempting to plunder the treasure room, and faced the owner of the voice. Before them stood a tall and heavily armored Gerudo. The desert thieves were a beautiful people, but the one that just entered the area was absolutely stunning. Her armor was ivory white and inlaid with gold and various jewels. The two men correctly assumed this was the Gerudo queen.

Like other Gerudo of high rank, she wore no veil. She moved as if the armor she was wearing weighed nothing more than the billowy pants and brief top that others of her people had. Cyrus charged at this woman. Troas cried out to him "Cyrus, don't!" but he was too late. As the mercenary was about to let the scimitar fall, he was blown back by a force of magical energy that flung him into the closed doors of the armory, rattling the doors with the impact.

The highlander stood, glowering at the Gerudo. His back felt as if a cart had run over it. Troas only had his pike pointed threateningly at the armored thief, who was now approaching him. "Oh, Troas. Cyrus. What made you think that you could ever leave here?" she asked mockingly in a very sweet, condescending voice. The mercenary hated that tone of voice. Troas faltered as he was approached. He began backing further away until he met the wall. He dropped his weapon when the Gerudo leader brought her face within a foot and a half of his.

"I don't know how you know our names, but I do know that you will remember us for years for our escape," the highlander huffed, mostly to divert the armored thief's attention. The Gerudo slowly shifted her gaze from the river merchant to Cyrus. The Zora's Sapphire was now giving off a faint glow. She let out a laugh, which each of the other Gerudo joined in. Troas' face flushed, but Cyrus seemed unaffected.

"Go back to your cell, Prince of Gleight," this high-ranking Gerudo said gently as she now approached Cyrus. She did have a commanding air and the mercenary was intimidated by her. There was something about her that radiated power that seemed beyond mortal men such as himself. He didn't let his fear show, however. Though he saw that his weapon was ineffective, he stood his ground and readied it. The Zora's Sapphire seemed to grow brighter as the Gerudo neared.

The rest of the crowd watched as the Gerudo came even closer. The mercenary took a swing at her, hoping that repeated blows might weaken her magical barrier. He never would get the chance. Before his swing landed, the Gerudo seized his weapon with inhuman speed and with equally unnatural strength tore it from his grip and threw it across the room. "Break," she said softly as she fixed an iron grip on Cyrus' forearm and stared into his eyes.

Instantly tendrils of pain moved their way through all of the helpless mercenary's body. Searing, stinging, but at the same time icy cold and dull, throbbing agony coursed his system. He howled in pain as the grip tightened. He did the only thing he thought he could do, something he had learned from other times he was tortured to make it through. He transformed his pain into absolute hatred and rage toward the one torturing him, blinding himself to the pain with sheer anger. With each nerve that was struck, he came to despise even more this Gerudo wrenching his arm. Troas shielded his eyes and the Gerudo guards looked at the scene, a few cringing, some smiling wickedly, most with no expression.

Through clenched teeth, Cyrus began to utter heinous oaths in his highlander tongue as much as he could manage from the pain. Each syllable felt like it would disintegrate his teeth. "Insolence is punished. The haughty are made low. Men are broken and the Gerudos rise," the queen countered as she further twisted the mercenary's arm.

Just then, Cyrus' emotions calmed unexpectedly. Rather than wishing doom upon his torturer, he only felt the same irritation that he had for her when they first met. The pain began flowing out of his body as if carried away by a healing river that flowed through his veins. He looked down and saw the light emanating from the Zora's Sapphire grow until it flashed in a blinding blue light. The mercenary could feel power beginning at the talisman running through his being as did the healing comfort, but this time it flowed into the Gerudo.

A look of horror solidified on her face, followed by one of great pain. She released her grip and shrieked and yowled as she contorted on the ground, her armor scraping the sandstone floor as she did. All of the soldiers looked in shock as their leader was writhing about. Troas appeared stunned as well, but courage was returning to him as it left all of the others.

Eventually, her violent spasms ended and she was still. The armor began to crack. The breaks multiplied and eventually the entire suit of armor dissolved into dust, revealing that the woman beneath it was dressed in the same manner as all of the other Gerudo, except in black rather than the normal purple. She laid on the ground panting. Malice began to show on her face. She began to rise and drew two large scimitars. "Get your weapons. We fight to the death," she said coldly.

"Finally some honor on your part," Cyrus said with a wolfish grin. All the guards before the armory stood aside as he entered to procure his sword and shield. Weapons of all kinds lined the walls and racks of the Gerudo armory. Each one of them was carefully polished and sharpened, ready for use at a moment's notice. On the far side of the room was a wooden door with a carving of a horse on it. Cyrus presumed this was the stable and that it was to be his and the river merchant's next destination.

Soon the mercenary emerged from the armory with his long broadsword belted on his side and his shield on his arm, the crest of a downward pointed sword within a red rupee bright under a recent coat of polish. The black clad Gerudo dropped into a fighting stance as Cyrus drew his sword slowly, letting its ring pierce the air. The two locked their gazes on each other and both moved counterclockwise, never taking their gaze off the other. The Gerudo had the advantage in this fight. Her large, yet lightweight scimitars were both effective as weapons and as shields.

Cyrus charged forward, aiming a slash at the Gerudo's middle. She positioned a scimitar to deflect the blow, but the mercenary feinted and made a sideways kick at his opponent's shin, trying to unbalance her. She quickly jumped out of the way and sent a powerful double-bladed strike down on the highlander. He raised his shield and absorbed the blow, but the shock that went up his arm betrayed a portion of the inhuman strength that this Gerudo had shown earlier, but thankfully not as much of it.

Gerudo soldiers from all around began to cheer and shout, insulting Cyrus and encouraging their own leader. The mercenary made another attack, slashing at the woman before him. Each blow was dodged or parried. "You should feel proud of yourself," the mercenary panted as he attempted a shield bash. "You're one of the few women that I would even dare to attempt to strike." His aggressor only humphed and spun around, her blades making a lethal whirlwind.

It seemed to the mercenary that her magical abilities were returning to her. Each blow seemed to be stronger than the last and her movement seemed to be speeding up. The two were locked in a dance of combat. The Gerudo attacked in flowing, fluidic movement, each attack and parry gracefully evolved into the next at rapid speeds. Cyrus responded with heavy blows, using his sword, shield, and feet while shrugging off any attacks on his shield. His combat style was one focused more on power, while his opponent preferred great speed.

Troas watched the fight carefully, seeing where he could contribute. As he lowered his pike, Cyrus pushed away the Gerudo and shook his head at him. A soldier struck his pike to the floor and then shook a finger at him. He gave a leering glance at her and helplessly watched the fight resume.

The mercenary's strength was flagging now, yet the other seemed to be growing more powerful as the fight wore on. He took advantage of a brief respite and stood panting for a moment. The Gerudo's black painted lips slowly widened into a malicious smirk. All those gathered saw in shock that the thief queen's armor was regenerating, very slowly materializing starting by her feet. She took a deep breath as she gained an expression of triumph on her face.

Ocean blue light pulsed from the Zora's Sapphire, as if to urge Cyrus on. He let out a bellow and charged his opponent, mustering every last drop of energy he had left. He brought his sword down in a mighty two-handed blow. The blade caught on the breastplate as it was forming and became a part of it. The Gerudo looked at him in wicked madness. He wrenched desperately at his sword trying to dislodge it.

The mercenary released his sword and thrust his shield, hitting the breastplate with the edge. A long dent was left on the Gerudo's armor. Her face now shone desperation as she struggled for breath; the dent pressed in on her center. Encouraged, he attacked again and again, damaging the armor even further. Now confident that the magic hadn't taken its full effect, he swing his shield in a great arc, catching the thief queen in the head and ending her.

All the rest of the crowd stared in disbelief, including Troas. Cyrus stood panting and retrieved his sword when the armor crumbled a second time. The Gerudos began to approach the corpse of their leader. The highlander muscled his way through them and grabbed Troas. "Is there anything of yours in the treasure trove or armory?" he asked the river merchant. The other quickly glanced at the Zora's Sapphire, too brief of a look for the mercenary to notice. "No, I've got everything I need," he answered, picking up his stolen pike.

"Good, because once they come to their senses," Cyrus motioned to the crowd. "We'll have more than a Gerudo witch in enchanted armor to deal with." Troas nodded enthusiastically and they sprinted out the door to the armory and into the stables. Luckily, there were a few horses already saddled. The river merchant leaped onto one while Cyrus hesitated. "Milord, we need to get going," he urged. The pair heard the armory door open and angry voices come from the other side. The mercenary hastily tied a whip between the door handle and a post on one of the stalls.

The mob began to ram against the door using a heavy sledge from the armory. "Now!" Troas commanded emphatically. "I… I… I don't ride well…" Cyrus stammered, looking hesitatingly at a horse. "You don't know how to ride? You tell me this NOW?!" the river merchant shouted, fear and anger rising within him. "What kind of prince do you think I am?" the mercenary answered indignantly. This was one of the extremely rare situations where Cyrus even admitted that he was, much less ever had been a prince. "I just don't ride well," he repeated quietly as he struggled onto a horse.

"He really can't," Troas thought disdainfully as Cyrus finally managed to mount properly. He didn't sit in the saddle like one who was an experienced rider. A loud bang came on the door as a few splinters were knocked loose. The river merchant let out an exasperated groan. "Ok, just squeeze your knees together as tightly as you can to hang on. Tug on the reins the direction you want him to go. Punch him with your heels to make him move. Let's get outta here! Hyah!" Troas said quickly.

Drawing himself up and trying not to let his fear of riding show, he clenched the reins until his knuckles turned white and punched his heels into the horse's side and followed after the retreating river merchant. He was just in time, the Gerudo had just battered down the door and were flooding the stable, mounting as many horses as they could, saddled or not.

Exiting the stable, the two were blinded momentarily since their eyes had been so unaccustomed to the sun in so many days, or in Troas' case months, possibly years. Cyrus risked a backward glance and saw several soldiers storming out of the fortress stable, yipping their horses on and those that had bows shooting at the escapees. Troas turned to look as well and yelped as an arrow flew past his side and buried itself in the sand.

Even though it had been years, the highlander began to regain his knowledge of riding. He sat up straighter in the saddle. He still was not enjoying the prospect of riding a horse, but he was doing it more competently. The force of an arrow striking the shield on his back jolted the mercenary forward.

"There!" the river merchant called, pointing to a decrepit bridge. "We can cross it and cut the bridge down!" Cyrus looked behind and saw that the lighter soldiers were gaining. He then looked ahead at the bridge. "Are you insane?" he demanded as he saw it rushing forward. His fear of heights and horses were now combining, almost paralyzing him. "Of course I am! Why else would I think this was a good idea?" Troas boomed.

Not daring to even slow down, the mercenary gritted his teeth and shut his eyes as the pair charged over the bridge. Cyrus breathed a sigh of relief when he again heard hoofbeats on sand. He pulled sharply on the reins, skidding to a halt on the desert sand and swung himself out of the saddle. Rolling on the ground to break his fall, he rushed to the bridge, sword drawn. Two Gerudo were already making their way across.

The old ropes didn't hold up to the highlander's swings, and the bridge fell from it's place. Two screaming horses and Gerudos fell to the canyon below. Their comrades stood on the other side, cursing Cyrus and Troas in their native Gerudo and in Hylian. The mercenary boomed out with laughter. "You couldn't even hold me for one week! Rot in the underworld, sand rats!"

Shaking his head at them and chuckling as arrows barely fell short of his side of the cliff, the mercenary turned around and was staring right at Troas, who had now dismounted, and the point of his pike aimed at the mercenary's throat. "You fool," Cyrus said simply. "It's time I told you the truth, Milord," the other said with a grave look on his face. "I'm not really a river merchant. I'm a thief. The real reason I was imprisoned here was because I tried to raid the Gerudos' treasure room. I couldn't resist the hoard that was in there," a smile began to crawl on his face. "I'll just take the Zora's Sapphire off your hands as payment for helping you get out of there. I've never heard of it doing what it did for you while you were fighting the Gerudo chief, but now that I know just what it can do, it will fetch a much better price than I would have thought."

The mercenary's expression turned sour. "Have you no sense of human decency that you would try and hold me up after we got ourselves out of there?" he demanded.

"Thief," Troas answered directly.

"Thief," agreed Cyrus. Before the other could react, he yanked the polearm and pulled the thief closer. Kicking his assailant off the weapon, Cyrus swept the weapon under his legs and knocked the other over. The highlander threw the pike aside, pinned Troas to the ground and dealt a punch to the other's stomach. "I don't like thieves," he continued. He punched again, now, hitting the diaphragm, winding the thief.

"Can't you work for a living like decent folk?"

"A mercenary like yourself is decent milord?" Troas struggled.

Cyrus landed another punch in the other's stomach. "You might have a point, but at least I'm not a criminal. And by the way," the mercenary continued. "Don't call me 'milord,' I'm not a prince anymore," he finished by punching the thief in the head and knocking him unconscious.

When Troas came to he was buried in the sand up to his neck and saw Cyrus placing a spoon in his mouth, blade out. "Normally I would have just left you here," the mercenary began. "I'm not a bad fellow, but as a mercenary, I had to give you a mercenary's punishment for traitors." Troas spit out the spoon. "Curse you, Cyrus of Gleight! I'll get you for this!" he roared.

"Hold onto the spoon," Cyrus said as he put it back in Troas' mouth. "It's your only way of getting out of here unless someone else comes to dig you out. The only others likely to come are Gerudo and you don't want to go back there, do you? Best get digging."

The mercenary looked around and saw the Arbiter's grounds and he began to approach them. It would be a few hours journey, but at least he was closer than he was before. He dug out some desert grass and extracted their much needed water. Cyrus was thoroughly refreshed from the liquid, as warm as it was. Vitality was returning to him and he began his trek with renewed vigor.

"By Nayru," Cyrus thought to himself. "I certainly was a monster these past few days." The mercenary forged ahead, thinking of things that eased his soul.


	3. Chapter 3

Night was falling in the desert. The evening cool was rapidly becoming a harsh cold. Cyrus wore long sleeves, but it wouldn't help him for long against the chill of a desert night. Stars were beginning to appear in the heavens, and with no light around for several miles the sight was truly breathtaking. The constellations the mercenary knew were indistinguishable among the numberless stars. Brilliant points of light and streaks of stars wound their way up and down the sky. All were watched over by the careful gaze of a waxing crescent moon, a silvery sliver shedding enough light so that the dunes below could be seen, but not so bright as to dominate the stars.

The incredible twinkling of the heavens couldn't be dwelt on for long, however. The mercenary had never spent a night alone in the desert before. He could only guess at what dangers may be there to beset a lonesome traveller, a Gerudo raiding party the least among them. The highlander kept his ears sharp as he continued his way to the shadowy spires and statue of the winged Triforce that marked the entrance to the Arbiter's Grounds.

Long hours of walking had tired the Hylian. He could distinguish no shrubs, caves, or even rocks that he could use to make a shelter with. Cyrus decided to press on, knowing that bedding down unsheltered in the Gerudo Desert was foolhardy at best, due to the occasional sandstorm in the area. He hoped that there would be somewhere safe for him soon enough, but it was clear that the desert was not going to yield a place for him so soon.

Finally, as the moon was well on its way to the horizon, the mercenary arrived at an encampment just outside of the old ruins. Sharp wooden pickets and a few grindstones showed that this camp was military in nature. Cyrus' heart was eased, however, when he saw the proud standard of the kingdom of Hyrule illuminated by a dying campfire dancing in the swift desert breeze.

What struck him as odd was that if this was a military camp, there was no guard visible. There were signs of life around indeed; a still glowing campfire, and the loud snoring of a soldier in his tent. Judging by the size of the encampment, there couldn't have been more than fifty soldiers present.

Deciding it was best not to wake the small force, the mercenary decided to simply proceed onward to the Arbiter's Grounds, exhausted though he was. As he was about to pass the outer line of pickets that would take him there, he saw a guard emerge from behind a wall, tightening his belt. Upon seeing Cyrus he fumbled with his spear and readied it, calling out to the highlander "Halt! Who goes there?"

"A mercenary sworn to the Hylia and a friend," Cyrus answered calmly. The soldier kept his spear pointed at the mercenary. "And just what in the blazes are you doing out here?" the soldier demanded.

"It's a long story," came the answer. "I could ask you the same," he added.

"It's a long story," the guard replied testily.

Cyrus sighed and changed the subject. "I promise you, I'm a friend. Look, I've been travelling almost all night and I escaped from the Gerudo fortress earlier today. I'm very tired. Would you permit me to stay the night in this camp?"

The soldier paused for a moment and then let loose in boisterous laughter. "You? Escaped from the Gerudo?" The highlander only rolled his eyes and waited impatiently for the other to finish. The guard was silenced when he heard another soldier in the nearest tent bark out "Shut up, Meyon! Nobody wants to hear you laugh at whatever it is you've cooked up in that pea-brain of yours tonight."

"Sorry, captain," the guard named Meyon protested. "I'm just having such an interesting conversation with this doltish highlander that expects me to believe that he's a mercenary. What's more that he escaped the Gerudo Fortress earlier this evening," he chuckled.

The captain was heard grumbling inside his tent, along with the sounds of a few other soldiers awakening at the sound of Meyon's loud voice. The captain stepped out of his tent in his night clothes, blinking the sleep from his eyes. He grabbed a piece of burning wood from the fire for light and approached the pair. In the light, Cyrus could make out the captain's features. He was full of muscle gained from years of service in the military. His hair was black and messy from being in bed. Pointed ears stuck out from beneath the hair, indicating that he was Hylian.

The captain blearily made his way toward Cyrus, holding up his torch to get a good look. "What's your tribe, highlander?" he asked gruffly. "Clan Gleight," the other answered tersely. "Can we deal with the pleasantries tomorrow?"

The captain ignored the request. "You certainly are a long way from home," he commented, walking around behind Cyrus to see his shield. "Meyon," he began to say in frustration.

"Sir!" the other soldier answered, standing attention. The mercenary unslung his shield to show Meyon, who dropped back into combat position and aimed his spear menacingly at Cyrus. "Try anything and I'll-" he started, but was cut off by his superior. "Idiot. Look at his shield. This man is indeed a mercenary," he said as he pushed the spearhead down. "I'd like to hear about this escape from the Gerudo Fortress, however," he continued. Cyrus only yawned. "Can we dispense with this until the morning?" the highlander persisted.

"Very well," answered the captain, eager to get back to sleep himself. "There's a tent and a bedroll over there," he indicated with the torch before he threw it back into the fire. The mercenary nodded and headed in that direction. "Leave him alone, Meyon," the captain ordered gruffly. Cyrus heard the footsteps behind him stop. In a matter of minutes, the mercenary had made camp and was sleeping soundly, grateful for the soft sand he was resting on.

The highlander was rudely awakened by a bugle call signalling that it was time for the camp to arise. He knew that he hadn't been in bed for long to begin with, but it certainly didn't feel as long as it was. Reluctantly he arose from his tent and grumbled, belting on his sword and slinging his shield on his back. Many of the other soldiers were staring at him. He could hear them murmuring concerning his presence, asking each other when he got there and their confusion as to why their commanding officer felt it necessary to hire mercenaries for their particular mission.

Cyrus ignored them while he folded his tent and bedroll. Soon after he finished, the Hylian soldiers were falling into ranks. The mercenary joined, yet stood on his own as the camp paid its devotions to the three goddesses. He paid particular attention to his prayer to Farore, the goddess of courage. He felt it might be needed when he entered the abandoned Arbiter's Grounds.

Various morning rituals followed that held no interest to the highlander. The troops counting off, guard reports, and so forth. What felt to Cyrus to be over an hour, the captain dismissed the troops for breakfast. The mercenary was suddenly reminded that he hadn't had a proper meal since he had entered the desert as he joined the line. While waiting, he could see many soldiers catching glimpses of him and whispering to each other.

"What's the problem, you haven't seen a highlander before?" he asked gruffly to some soldiers in front of him. The responded with silence and by fixing their gazes on the man in front of them. After a few minutes in the line, the mercenary was served a mixture of scrambled eggs, potatoes, and bacon by a rather unenthusiastic camp chef. Cyrus was eager to have his meal, and he sat by himself with his back against one of the crumbling walls of the structure the army was camped in.

A young soldier trotted up to the highlander and sat down beside him. He was greeted by a slight tilt of the head. "So. Um…" the soldier began. Cyrus noted the single brass chevron on the other's left gauntlet, indicating that he was a lowly private. He resumed his question nervously. "Tain said that he saw your shield and that the crest meant you are a mercenary," he said with a quiver in his voice. The mercenary swallowed and looked over at the soldier addressing him.

"For heaven's sakes boy, relax. I'm not going to tear your head off," he said with a smile. The Hylian soldier's shoulders untensed only slightly. "I j-just wanted to know if it was true or not. Because I heard that highlanders hated m-mercenaries," he stammered.

Skirting the question, Cyrus replied with an inquiry of his own. "How long have you been in the army, son?"

"I finished basic training last week," came the shaky reply. Even so, there was some pride in the answer. "This is my first assignment."

"That's what I thought," the mercenary said under his breath, taking another bite. The other soldier waited patiently, yet apprehensively hoping that Cyrus would answer his question. "I don't know if they told you this, boot," he began to say as he set his plate down on the sand beside him. "But you NEVER show fear to ANYONE when you're a fighting man if you can help it. Remember, the old saying goes 'a sword is useless unless the hand that holds it has courage.' Oh yes, you will be afraid, and it will be often. I myself, even recently thought I was going to be at the End, but nobody around me knew that I was afraid because I didn't show it."

The soldier was beginning to be more at ease with the highlander as they spoke. "Please, sir, I don't see what this has to do with-" he was silenced by an extended finger from the mercenary.

"The reason is, your comrades will see you as one who is determined. Your enemies will either think that you're a seasoned veteran or just outright insane. Either way, they'll want to leave you alone!" the mercenary began to laugh loudly. The Hylian beside him failed to see what was so funny.

Cyrus cleared his throat when he saw that he got no reaction from the soldier. "Sorry, I'm not that good at raising other people's spirits. But to answer your question, I am a mercenary, and I am a highlander. And the highlander tribes have no more problem with mercenaries than any other race in Hyrule."

The soldier nodded in understanding. "What's it like to be a mercenary?" he asked after a pause, trying to make conversation.

Cyrus thought a moment. "I suppose it's like being a regular, only if you don't work, you don't get paid. And that you need to provide your own weapons and armor. And some will look down on you as scum. The benefit is that you get paid more than a regular, but it's because you have a reputation to live up to, and that reputation is that you're a better fighter than any normal soldier." The mercenary was cut off by the barking voice of the captain.

"Clansman!" he shouted. Cyrus left behind the soldier without another word and approached the captain's tent, which had the Hylian standard floating above it. Inside, the captain was seated before a table, flanked by two guards, examining a map. "Sir?" Cyrus said upon entering, although without saluting. The Hylian captain didn't lift his eyes from the map. "I'd like to hear about your escape from the Gerudo yesterday, and on any other information you can give me on what they're doing up there," he asked. Cyrus got an inkling of the small army's purpose in the desert from the last part of the captain's request.

The mercenary carefully considered what the officer before him needed to know about his mission and the events of previous days. He ended up relating that he had gotten a contract from King Ralis that required him to consult the sages, but just what he needed to discuss with the sages he didn't mention. He continued to explain about his imprisonment in the Gerudo fortress and his fight with their queen that ended in her death.

At this point, the captain rose from his seat and looked at Cyrus as if his gaze would burn him. "You killed the Gerudo queen?" he demanded. "We're on the brink of war with those thieves, and that little stunt you pulled might send the whole situation over the edge."

Cyrus waved his hand to brush the matter aside. "Those sand rats caught me traveling alone. Even they would know that meant I wasn't acting for the crown as Hylian soldiers always travel in companies," the mercenary stated, trying to ease the captain's fears.

The captain's breathing eased, but he still appeared angry. "Even so," he growled. "If they really are wanting a war, this could give them the excuse they wanted." Cyrus shrugged. "They won't, sir. At least for not a long time. What the queen said to me while I was being tortured sounds like they have some strange agenda about 'breaking' all men in the world, not warring with the Hylia. As if they had forces sufficient to do either," the mercenary began to grin. "I think that they're just trying to take up the slaving business, with men as the chief commodity to be honest with you. If it does come to war, though," the highlander paused for a moment. "My company and I would be more than happy to assist the Hylia," he finished.

The soldier brought a hand up to his face. "Mercenaries," he huffed under his breath. Cyrus' grin widened slightly. The captain spoke again. "Let me tell you why this camp is here, son," he began, slowly sitting down again. "Since the Twilight Crisis a few years ago, the Arbiter's Grounds have been infested with the undead. Before we got here and thinned them out a little you could hear the re-dead screams for miles. That's the reason that's been made known to the officials in the kingdom however, the main purpose of this army is to spy out the Gerudos. We assumed that they wouldn't suspect anything if we stayed near the Arbiter's Grounds, since it was pretty obvious that the denizens of it needed to be put in check," the captain explained.

"How fruitful were your efforts?" Cyrus asked out of genuine curiosity. The soldier returned his gaze to the map on the table. "Not very, I'm afraid. What you've told us is about as valuable as everything we've found out over the few weeks we've been here," he stated. He then pointed to a spot on the map near the Gerudo Fortress. "But here we've found that these sand folk are expanding their fortress. We've seen several workers around this area," then the captain moved his finger on the map. "And also here, they've began reinforcing the walls and towers. Think they're not preparing for war now, highlander?"

"So it would seem," the mercenary admitted. "But I still doubt that they're going to be taking the offensive anytime soon. Especially after they've been destabilized by the loss of their leader," he continued. The captain slowly shook his head in response. "I don't know what they'll do. The Gerudo haven't mobilized for war in centuries, but from what we've seen..." he trailed off.

Cyrus ran a finger over the pommel of his sword. After a few moments he spoke up. "I'm sorry I couldn't have been more help," he began. The soldier looked up at him again. "But I would be willing to aid you with one of your tasks here in the desert. I told you that I was going to the Arbiter's Grounds. I'd be willing to help you purge it. No charge, if you support me."

While the Hylian captain thought for a moment, one of his guards spoke. "Permission to speak, sir?"

"Granted," the captain grunted, barely opening his mouth.

"I'm not sure how much this mercenary can help us, but it is probably high time we made another assault on the Arbiter's Grounds. The night guards have reported seeing a few more monsters than usual wandering around the area. If this highlander can help us, though, he might be valuable in completely purging the place. Then we could focus more attention on the Gerudo," he offered.

The captain took a breath. "You're right, corporal. You're right. Rally the camp. We'll want to do this while it's light out."

"Yes, sir!" the corporal said crisply as he strode out of the tent. A bugle call to assembly could be heard from outside. Soldiers instantly gathered into their ranks, fully armed and standing at attention. The captain also rose and exited the tent with the remaining guard, motioning for Cyrus to follow. Before leaving, the mercenary rubbed out the bridge he had felled from the map on the table.

The captain's voice carried well among his army of fifty soldiers as he presented the situation to them. "Listen up, men! We're going to make another attack on the Arbiter's Grounds. All of you are probably aware with the increase in undead activity over the last few days." In perfect military discipline, all of the soldiers remained still and silent as their commander continued. "This time, we'll be joined by this mercenary," he announced, pointing to Cyrus. "He bears a red rupee on his shield. For those of you unfamiliar with mercenaries, their skill and experience is reflected by the value of the rupee they bear on their armor and shields. If this man lives up to this mark, then he will be a great asset."

The mercenary shifted his stance slightly. The captain looked back at him and then back at the soldiers and continued his announcement. "We'll go in with a force of thirty five men, including myself and the highlander. Any one of you with experience in fighting the undead, stalchild included, please step forward," the captain ordered. About twenty men stepped in front of their comrades.

The mention of stalchildren caused the hairs on Cyrus' back to stand up. Though the weakest of all of the undead that walked Hyrule, the mercenary felt the greatest fear towards the stalchild. Even the heinous re-deads didn't strike his heart like stalchildren did. A memory tried to force its way to the surface in Cyrus mind, but he fought it back down by refocusing his attention on the captain. He had just called thirteen more men in addition to the twenty that had stepped forward. They now had their force of thirty five.

The captain looked over the small band of soldiers that had assembled. "Gather whatever you need and meet at the north entrance of the camp. We'll leave in one half hour," he commanded as the soldiers dispersed. Cyrus grabbed a whetstone and began to sharpen his blade. He was briefly interrupted by the voice of the captain. "Whatever happens in there, highlander, remember that I'm still the one in charge. I don't care how many men you commanded as a mercenary, I'm the commanding officer of these soldiers," he warned.

The mercenary didn't look up from his sharpening. "With all due respect, sir, what made you think that I'd try to undermine your authority?"

"I don't trust mercenaries," the captain replied bluntly.

"Not many do, captain. Not many do," Cyrus said absently, checking the edge on his sword. "But no matter what you may think, mercenaries can be as disciplined as the regular soldiers you command here. I know my place. You have nothing to worry about," he finished.

"I've still got my eye on you," the captain said quietly as he walked away. Cyrus paused for a moment and looked at the sky. The sun was still low on its journey over the azure sky.

The mercenary drew himself up and gave his sword a couple of swings. Its familiar weight felt like an extension of his arm. At times he almost felt it was more natural to have his blade on hand than not. Before sheathing his weapon he lopped off the head of a nearby training dummy. He was surprised to see that the wooden rod normally holding up the head of the dummy was absent. "The Hylia are getting cheap," he thought.

For the next few minutes, Cyrus impatiently paced the camp, listening to the soldiers speak to each other. Some expressed their fears of entering the Arbiter's Grounds, others were just making small talk with one another.

Soon the time to depart came, and the mercenary fell in with the small force tasked to cleanse the ancient ruins. Cyrus was near the front of them, keeping a watchful gaze as they entered the ruin.

The smell of dust was heavy in the air. It was so dry that the soldiers could almost feel the moisture draining from their bodies. Several took drinks out of their canteens.

"Look out!" a soldier shouted as a stalfos came out of the dark, bearing an old yet still very sharp sword and a medium sized round shield. Bits and pieces of decaying armor hung on the skeletal frame. Stalfos were once human or Hylian, but the magic that brought about their undeath always seemed to make them taller than they were in life. This being began to approach the mercenary as he was a farther away from the rest of the group.

Reacting quickly, the highlander drew his sword and absorbed the skeleton's own attack with his shield. The stalfos struck again, delivering a powerful overhand swing. Not being weighed down with armor like his opponent, Cyrus avoided the slow but lethal attack and swung his sword with great force toward the stalfos' head, sending the skull flying across the room at the feet of a soldier. The rest of the skeleton collapsed harmlessly on the floor.

"So it begins," Cyrus thought grimly, keeping his sword and shield ready. The captain readied his own weapon and ordered all of the other soldiers to do the same. Many sheaths rang as their blades were withdrawn, and the soldiers each looked around apprehensively, focusing on the dark corners of the room.

The Arbiter's Grounds were old and crumbling, but the structure was still sound. Dust illuminated by torchlight drifted around slowly, as if the feeling of death that permeated the air here was even affecting the fine particles. A distinctly marked path leading straight forward had a torch with a purple flame in the center of it. Above the entry to the next room hung an ancient sign suspended by rusty chains that read "Sages."

"Our next destination, eh?" the mercenary said cheerfully, seeing that his goal was already in sight. "Not so fast," the captain countered gruffly. "You said you were going to help us cleanse this place, didn't you? You're not going anywhere until that's done, clear?" the captain asked, approaching the mercenary. Cyrus rolled a shoulder and grunted "Fine," in response.

Aside from the doorways bearing the sign and the one the group came in, there were four other exits to this room. The captain examined each, weighing the options. Promptly he issued the order to his men to split up, each group taking one of the passageways. Once they reached a dead end or an area that was otherwise impassable, they were to return to the main entry to await the other groups.

Cyrus was assigned to go with a group headed by a sergeant, so assigned due to his experience in fighting the undead of Hyrule. The mercenary was placed near the mid-rear of the squad because of his lack of armor. The soldiers began to relax as the first few rooms they explored were unoccupied. All were still nervous, however. The place seemed to be too quiet. The sand that had drifted in over the years smothered their footsteps, enhancing the already eerie silence.

"What's that?" a soldier asked dreamily, looking at a floating, soft blue light. Dropping his mace, he began to approach the strange apparition. Cyrus felt something as well, a peace that gave him an unnatural calm. His emotions were lulled into an easy euphoria as the light bobbed up and down. As peaceful as he was feeling, he knew better than to trust such feelings in this odd place. He shook his head vigorously to try and fight back the false sense of security. It was working, but only slightly.

The soldier who was the first to be entranced began to get even closer to the levitating glow. The sergeant called out to his subordinate "Rogers, get away from that thing!" The sergeant's own voice betrayed his slightly wavering will, but he was able to maintain his senses. The beguiled soldier continued on. More were following now. "What could go wrong?" he said in an entranced voice. Those following him murmured in agreement.

The pulsing aqua blue of the Zora's Sapphire caught Cyrus' attention, bringing him to his right mind. Once a soldier got within two feet of the floating orb of light, he saw sick candlelight catch on what looked like a scythe blade floating above the hovering light.

"POE!" cried out one of the soldiers who had successfully resisted the lure of the floating lantern. The mercenary began to search about desperately for something to throw at the malicious spirit. He had never actually encountered a poe before, but he had heard much about these spectres. They weren't necessarily the spirits of the dead of Hyrule, but they were concentrated hatred that caused harm to anything living that they could.

The only thing Cyrus could see to throw at the ghost was a bone. He couldn't attack with his sword due to the press of soldiers around the spectre. "Where do I hit it?" Cyrus asked quickly of the soldier that initially raised the warning. "Above the lantern," answered the warrior, fear creeping into his voice. The mercenary threw the bone as hard as he could just over the lantern. Before the poe's scythe was swung, it was struck in the chest by the projectile.

The ghost cried out as it was hit, a voice that radiated the hatred that it was spawned from. It turned its attention to Cyrus. As it did, its enchantment wore off from the soldiers that were surrounding it. They hastened to retrieve their weapons and tried to aid the highlander. The mercenary raised his shield, but the poe had gone invisible again. Hoping to catch some glimpse of any part of its being, he screwed up his eyes, focusing above the lantern.

Only a faint outline became visible. Cyrus could barely make out the body of the small horror and its scythe raised, ready to strike. The mercenary ducked to avoid the swing of the scythe that would have removed his head had he stayed stationary. He struck back, thrusting his sword into the center of the outline. He could feel nothing but air absorb his attack, but the apparition before him recoiled in pain.

The poe came into full view now. It was a spectral, light blue color. It was about the size of a child with no distinguishable facial features save a pair of baleful orange eyes. The soldiers were now in range of their shadowy foe. Each of them hesitated until they saw the ghostly body stir. All at once, weapons of all kinds from each man rained down on the helpless spirit. A hammer shattered the lantern, and the poe dissolved into a puff of heavy black smoke and dissipated.

"Did we just kill a ghost?" asked a rattled private as the squad stepped back. "How does that work?" he continued absently. The soldiers were speaking one to another in low voices, when a loud clang pierced the air. They looked at the doors at each end of the room. Bars had just fallen in front of them. The squad was trapped.

Cyrus quickly looked around for some way out. The small company was in a room built from crumbling brick. The remnants of stairs led to the door across the room from the soldiers. Cells with decaying iron bars lined one side of the hallway. The band of Hylian warriors were locked in a cell block. One soldier broke from the group and began to desperately wrench on the bars that blocked the door, but to no avail. He began to babble hysterically about dying in this room while the sergeant tried without success to calm him and call him back to the rest.

"Shut up!" the mercenary barked. The soldiers all stood silent as they listened to the sound of rattling bones that grew louder and louder. Through the floor where ancient bricks had given way to the sand below, stalfos were rising up. "Ready men!" ordered the sergeant. All the soldiers readied their weapons and steeled their faces, preparing for the onslaught of stalfos. They were close in number to the soldiers, but more could rise at any time.

"Scourge… Scourge…" the skeletons rasped as they approached. Their harsh, gravelly voices sent chills down the spines of each man present. The stalfos' voices sounded like death, dust, decay, and hopelessness. Through the group, Cyrus could see something rise out of the sand that looked different than the rest. Some trace of flesh was still hanging on its frame. This was something the mercenary had dealt with before, and he recognized it instantly.

As the stalfos lumbered their way closer to the barricade the soldiers had formed by putting their strong tower shields side by side, Cyrus addressed the sergeant. "There's a re-dead behind all these stalfos. We need to break through the skeletons quickly or he'll paralyze us and then we're done for," he said urgently. The officer looked behind the small crowd and saw, as did Cyrus, a re-dead, now risen fully out of the sand, making its way toward the soldiers.

"If you get your men to distract the stalfos, I can take care of the re-dead," he suggested, his voice becoming more anxious as the skeletons neared. "You're mad!" the sergeant observed, keeping his eyes forward. "You got a better idea?" the mercenary demanded. The sergeant sighed heavily then raised his voice to command the company. "Phalanx maneuver! Push them through!" he ordered. Swiftly, the four spearmen present went to the front, forming their shields into a wall and pointing their weapons forward. They couldn't quite cover the span of the whole hallway, which is just what Cyrus needed.

Once the stalfos came close enough, the spearmen thrust their weapons forward, two impaled their targets, while the other two were blocked. Like clockwork, the spearmen melted back behind their comrades who were armed with weapons of a shorter reach, two with swords, one with a mace, and the last with a hammer. These began to struggle against the stalfos as the spearmen behind them jabbed out against the enemies they could reach.

The highlander didn't lose any time. He rushed through the opening left on the side by the soldiers, swinging at any stalfos that he was near enough to as he passed. They seemed unconcerned with him and were only focused on those before them. Soon the mercenary was facing the re-dead, who was shuffling its way toward the fighting. This one took notice of Cyrus. It let out the characteristic scream of the re-dead, its ghostly wail filled the hearer with an uncontrollable feeling of dread and fear that rooted him in place. The rest of the soldiers were too far away to be affected, but Cyrus was frozen.

The re-dead had stopped screaming, but the mercenary was still immobile. He came to his senses as he saw his enemy raise its greatsword. The decaying arms were slower lifting it than those of the living, but it was still a devastating weapon. Cyrus reacted just in time to avoid being cloven in two by the huge blade, diving to the side. Residual feelings of fear were still in his chest from the scream, but the highlander was prepared to fight nonetheless.

The re-dead reacted slowly, hefting its sword for another assault. Cyrus leapt again to the side where he couldn't be reached and drove his own sword into the monster's heart. His enemy howled again, but this time in pain, which didn't paralyze the highlander. He slashed at the rotting flesh a few more times. His blows were having an effect, but his opponent still had not fallen.

Out of the corner of his eye, Cyrus could see the stalfos pressing on his comrades, who were now slowly backing toward the wall. They were dispatching many of the skeletal foes, but there were so many. The mercenary called his attention back to the re-dead. It was unhinging its jaw and leaning towards him. Either it was going to scream again, or it was going to bite him. Re-deads were often quite tall, but its face was now on the same level as Cyrus'. Not waiting another moment, the highlander plunged his sword into the re-dead's chest. His enemy collapsed to the floor, relieved of its curse of undeath.

The acrid scent of dust surged through the air as the lifeless corpse dissolved. The mercenary sneezed. Looking toward his fellows again, he saw that they were backed to the wall now, but fortunately no new stalfos had joined the attack. Rushing into the fray, Cyrus began cleaving the skeletons with his powerful strokes from behind. When the Hylian soldiers noticed the mercenary they fought with renewed vigor. The stalfos fell quickly from the double attack, and soon the skeletal enemies were nothing more than harmless piles of bones.

Sighs and murmurs of relief arose from the nine men as they sheathed their weapons. "Well done, mercenary. Well done," breathed the sergeant as he nodded at Cyrus. The highlander proudly smiled and made his way toward the others. Above the congratulations among the soldiers, a spearman groaned loudly. "The door's still barred!" he moaned. Most of the soldiers huffed in frustration. "Now what, Derrick?" demanded an irritated swordsman. "Don't give up, men. We'll find a way out," the sergeant leading the squad replied hopefully. "And remember your rank, corporal," he added impatiently.

"Any ideas, highlander?" Sergeant Derrick asked the mercenary. Before he could answer, Cyrus' ears heard the tell-tale rattling sound of small bones. Total horror welled up in the mercenary's chest. He didn't notice the sergeant's cheerful command. "Easy slashin' men! Looks like a contingent of stalchildren. Mow 'em down!" he shouted, raising his weapon.

Stalchildren are small yet aggressive skeletons, so named because of their childlike stature. They are always unarmed and fall easily to any competent fighter. Yet Cyrus, courageous mercenary as he was, was terrified of them. A dark memory the highlander had been trying so hard to suppress since entering the Arbiter's Grounds now blasted its way to the surface of his mind.

When Cyrus was a young child, still living with his clan in the Trilby Highlands, he and his brother had been out playing after dark on a moonless night. Both wielded large sticks, pretending that they were Link, the mighty hero of time, saving Hyrule from the dread Demon Thief Ganondorf. Their play weapons whistled through the air as they whacked bushes, trees and rocks, imagining they were lizalfos, stalfos, moblins, and other vile creatures.

As they continued in their play, they heard the soil breaking all around them. Rising from the ground were a dozen or so small skeletons: stalchildren. Both children screamed in fear and began to sprint toward the pickets that marked the entrance of Gleight and safety. Cyrus outran the fiendish skeleton children, but his brother was too slow. He was grabbed by a stalchild. Looking behind him, Cyrus could see his brother being pulled down into the ground as the stalchild slowly sank down with his prey.

"Cyrus!" his brother shrieked. "Save me!"

Cyrus was paralyzed by fear. All he could do was scream the name of his brother. "Euen! Euen!" he shrieked, his calls dying into a low whimper as he saw his beloved brother disappear down into the ground with the stalchildren. He ran home sobbing the whole way, straight to his father, the Laird of Gleight.

Through stammering cries of fear and shame, Cyrus informed his father what had happened. Hardened man as he was, the boy's father began to weep after receiving the news of the loss of one of his dear sons. He scolded his son Cyrus harshly for playing out after dark, but he wasn't heard. All that Cyrus could hear was the scream of his brother Euen in his mind. That experience had traumatized him for the rest of his life. Though he had grown to be a fighting man like any highlander, though he faced death on numerous occasions, fought enemies that were more than a match for him and he always survived, the stalchild still froze him with fear. He could not bear the small horrors. What exacerbated the problem was that years later, Cyrus thought he saw a stalchild wearing the same clothing that his brother had been that fateful night.

The mercenary's mind was brought back to the present as the sergeant called to him "Cyrus! What kind of highlander are you, shirking a fight? Not like we need it, but your help would still be appreciated!" The soldiers armed with swords, mace, and hammer were swinging their weapons before them and destroying several stalchildren with every stroke. The small skeletal beings continued to rise from the sand exposed by the broken floor stones at the other end of the room, but the soldiers fought on, knowing they would conquer.

The highlander made no response to the sergeant. Rather he dropped his sword and shield to the floor and fell to the ground. He laid face down on the floor and covered his head. The spearmen were near the door the soldiers entered initially, since their slow weapons were unneeded at this time. One spearman noticed the mercenary shuddering and shivering on the floor and approached the highlander.

"Keep the pressure on, lads! They're thinning out!" the sergeant cried excitedly. Those by his side shouted in assent and pressed the attack. The spearman bent down by the mercenary's side. "Sir Cyrus. What's wrong?" he asked with concern. Another spearman noticed the fear-stricken mercenary on the ground. "What's the matter? You can cleave a re-dead but you lose it when a few little stalchildren show up? Pathetic!" he spat.

"Shut up!" barked the spearman advocating Cyrus. "And speaking of pathetic, I saw you bawling and trembling behind the camp when you got an extra shift of night guard duty," he added icily. The other spearman pursed his lips and returned his attention to the fight.

"Euen… Euen…" Cyrus mumbled, shuddering uncontrollably. "Stalchild took Euen…" he babbled. The spearman beside the mercenary looked back at the declining mob of stalchildren and then back at the highlander. "You're afraid of them? Don't worry, they're almost gone. Keep your head," he encouraged. A short while later, the sergeant and those fighting the stalchildren shouted in victory. They rejoined the spearmen, panting from the constant swinging of their weapons.

"Sir Cyrus, they're gone," the spearman said quietly to the mercenary. Cyrus looked up at the room, and saw nothing other than the soldiers who were now grouped around him. A tear escaped one of his eyes. "What's wrong? demanded the sergeant as he pushed his way through the soldiers to the stricken mercenary, who had a few more tears roll down his face. He rose to a sitting position as the sergeant demanded "What happened to that highlander bloodlust of yours!"

"Highlanders… aren't bloodlusty…" Cyrus breathed as he raised himself up. He gave a few deep breaths. "We just… get a little more caught up in a fight than most," the mercenary stammered. "Whatever!" groaned the sergeant in exasperation. "Hopeless," he huffed.

"Leave him alone!" barked the defending spearman, rising up. "He's weak hearted!" the sergeant countered, his voice rising. He spoke to no one in particular as he stormed back and forth in the room. "Here we see Cyrus the mighty mercenary lord! Suffered fewer defeats than he can count on two hands and his blood freezes in the face of a few stalchildren!"

"You don't know anything!" the spearman roared. "All of us have ridiculous fears! You see this?" he rolled back a sleeve and showed three scars that ran next to each other on his forearm. "I got this from a cat. A cat! And now my heart freezes anytime I'm near one of the furballs, all because I got a little scratch when I was a kid!" he continued. Some of the soldiers behind him snickered.

"And what about you, Sergeant Derrick?" the spearman blustered. "You flipped over a table one day during chow because you thought you saw a spider on it!" All eyes were on the sergeant now. Emotion was rising within him and anger formed on his face. "Five lashes when we get back, Dain!" he huffed.

"Why? All because I proved you have fears like the rest of us?" the spearman Dain shot back.

"Derrick! Control you men!" Cyrus barked. None of the soldiers had noticed that he had risen to his full, tall height, sword sheathed again and shield slung on his back. He radiated a great air of authority as he stared down the sergeant. The other soldiers looked in disbelief at the mercenary. "Oh now that they're gone you…" the sergeant began, but was silenced by a look from the mercenary.

"Command us! The doors are unlocked now," Cyrus pressed, seemingly ignorant the events of the last few minutes. Looking at the now unobstructed door, the sergeant tersely ordered "Move out," and the soldiers fell into line. The highlander went next to Dain and whispered "Thank you. Ever since I saw my brother Euen taken by stalchildren when I was a young lad I just couldn't…" he choked on the last few words of his sentence.

"Anytime," the spearman answered with a smile. "We all need to look out for each other. Whether its from our enemies or from… each other."

Behind the next door the room was dim. A few candles on the walls shed their faint light into the large area. A tall desk was on the other side, with the winged triforce engraved upon it. "This must be the judgement hall," remarked a soldier breathlessly. The ceiling was dark in the weak candlelight. The most prominent landmark of the room was a very large dark, shiny black sword with its blade in the ground. Several cords were tied to it and anchored to the floor. These cords had small cloth banners tied to them, each with a different rune painted on it. The maceman of the small company noticed that one of the banners was decaying and falling off its cord, its rune now imperceptible.

As the soldiers ringed the sword, the maceman approached the tattered banner. "Stay away, private," Sergeant Derrick warned, but not quickly enough. The maceman tore the old banner from its cord. As he did, a dark laugh filled the room that seemed to come from all directions. As the soldiers were looking about, a wave of force radiated from the sword and knocked all present on their backs.

"I'm free!" the deep, powerful voice rumbled as the cords tying the sword down snapped one by one. The Hylians rose up and saw the sword begin to levitate and pivot on its handle, as if it was being held. Shadows coalesced near the sword and the form of a heavily armored black clad entity materialized. His armor was made of the same highly reflective jet black metal of the sword. Both armor and blade now had blood red runes breaking forth from them, adding their own light to the candles in the room.

"The final barrier has been broken! The Arbiter's Grounds are mine!" the black armored figure said triumphantly. The candles in the room all extinguished, and the only light now visible was coming from the red runes on the armor and sword of this new being, yet the sick red glow illuminated the room completely. "Stalbaron," a soldier shakily whispered in terror.

"Foolish mortals!" the stalbaron thundered. "You have entered where the living do not belong! Fall now and join my ranks!" As the stalbaron said this, stalfos appeared throughout the room, their rasping voices became a cacophony of sound that brought death to the forefront of the mind.

The soldiers all had their shields raised, some faced the stalbaron and others his minions. Only Cyrus moved at all, and he approached to great demon. "Cyrus, halt!" ordered the sergeant but he was ignored.

"Coward!" the mercenary called to the stalbaron. The demonic fiend was an imposing and bulky eight feet tall. He looked down at Cyrus and regarded him. "You send down your whole army upon nine men! Have you so little honor that you won't engage a fair fight? I dare you to fight against a lone man! Face me, creature of shadow!" the highlander challenged.

"Very well…" the stalbaron rumbled with a raised hand, ordering his minions to stand down. He walked a few paces away from the highlander, sword in hand. Suddenly, he whipped around and swung his great blade at Cyrus with a speed that the mercenary would have swung a dagger. Cyrus was struck by the flat of the weapon and was knocked sprawling across the room. He was stopped by the wall and was helped up from the ground by two soldiers.

"Foooooooolll…" the stalbaron rasped. The beast slowly approached the mercenary. "Bad idea," though Cyrus. "Bravery sometimes will only get you killed," he mused. The stalbaron spoke again. "No mortal hand can kill me! Embrace death and join my ranks!" he bellowed, repeating his earlier command.

The mercenary felt a pain shoot through his chest. It didn't feel as if ribs were broken, but he was still in great pain. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something illuminated by the runelight. A rope was pulled taut to a ring in the ground and some point in the ceiling that the mercenary couldn't see. "This may be my only chance," he thought as he swung his sword into the rope, cutting it. The stalbaron was in the center of the room now, and Cyrus hoped that whatever the rope was suspending would fall on and destroy his enemy.

As the rope was severed, a loud clang echoed through the room. Suddenly, a shaft of sunlight fell to the center of the room, right where the stalbaron was, momentarily blinding all present. The demon bellowed in pain and rage. "I rise to be so soon destroyed by a human!" he roared. The stalbaron's cries escalated until a loud cracking reverberated through the large room. Stalfos everywhere were collapsing to the ground, and the stalbaron exploded in a cloud of dust, armor and sword falling now to the floor, the light from the red runes extinguished.

A moment later after the noise had died down, the soldiers erupted into cheers and praise for Cyrus the mercenary. He sheathed his sword and faced the sergeant. "I see nothing else that we can do. Here's hoping that the stalbaron was the source of all this madness," Derrick announced. "Let's get back to the rest of the soldiers."

"Yes, sir!" answered the other enthusiastic Hylian soldiers, falling into line as they left the area. Cyrus only gave a curt nod, which was returned by the sergeant. Despite that the mercenary cracked at the sight of the stalchildren, the Hylian officer quickly regained his respect for Cyrus from his show of courage, no matter how foolish he thought it was. "You're insane," Sergeant Derrick said as he passed the mercenary in line. Cyrus only smiled.

Presently, all of the soldiers were reunited, except for two. One was missing from the captain's squad and the other was missing from the group that went the opposite direction of Cyrus. "Report," the captain ordered as the soldiers resumed their ranks. The commander of each group proceeded to summarize the events they experienced in the last few minutes.

The first squad leader reported that they had found nothing, except for an armory full of rusted weaponry and chains. The second group announced that they had been ambushed by stalfos and had lost a man in the fighting. Sergeant Derrick was the next to report. He briefly noted the fight that his squad had, leaving out Cyrus' loss of heart at the appearance of the stalchildren, for which the highlander was grateful. He had also reported the death of the stalbaron. The captain appeared thoughtful at the mention of the stalbaron. He told the soldiers that one of his men had been paralyzed and killed by a re-dead, one of five they encountered in one room. After fighting the monstrosities for a few moments, they had collapsed to the ground and became lifeless. The captain further surmised that this must have been the same time Cyrus had killed the stalbaron.

"Excellent work on the stalbaron, highlander," the captain congratulated.

"Happy to help," Cyrus answered with a grin. The captain then turned to the rest of the soldiers. "Rumma and Foda were brave men. They gave their lives to cleanse this place. They will be remembered," he said solemnly. Every soldier removed his helmet and bowed his head for a moment before the captain ordered the company to continue onward.

"Now for what you came here for," the captain said to Cyrus as the company marched further into the Arbiter's Grounds. The following rooms of the great structure were uneventful. They were crumbling like the rest of the edifice. The remains of stalfos and redeads were seen everywhere the company went. They were wary should any suddenly spring to life, but they were fairly confident that the death of the stalbaron had extinguished the curse of undeath on the building.

After a short while of searching the remaining unexplored regions of the ancient prison, the company came to the largest room they had yet encountered. The floor was completely sand. Rising up in the center of the room was a stone pillar that towered so high none of the men could easily make out the top in the weak light offered by the candles lining the walls all the way to the ceiling. A staircase ran around the outside of the pillar until it reached the top where a stone bridge extended to an open archway. Daylight could be seen emanating from the archway.

"That must be where the sages are," the captain stated, pointing to the top of the pillar. He turned his focus to Cyrus. "You're the one that came to see the sages. We'll leave you to it. Meet us back at camp when you're done."

The mercenary nodded and began his lengthy ascent up the staircase. An ancient Hylian script lined the outside of the pillar. Time had eroded most of the characters, but even if they were legible they were written in an ancient form of Hylian that few could still read. Oddly enough, the staircase itself appeared to be the only part of the Arbiter's Grounds that wasn't crumbling.

Reaching the top, the highlander took a deep breath. He honestly didn't know what to expect from his meeting with the Sages, or if they would appear to him at all.

The mercenary was momentarily blinded by the daylight, but his eyes quickly regained their focus. The wind was blowing briskly. The top of the Arbiter's Grounds offered a good view of the Gerudo Desert and the surrounding mountain ranges. Amongst the featureless desert of rolling amber sand dunes, Cyrus could see the Gerudo Fortress and the chasm that separated him from the stronghold. Toward the south the cool blue of Lake Hylia could be seen. "Somewhere down there," Cyrus thought. "Must be what I'm looking for." He looked down at the Zora's Sapphire. "And what I'm not looking for," he continued, thinking of Princess Ruto and her earlier antics.

The wind stiffened as Cyrus looked at his surroundings atop the Arbiter's Grounds. A massive black stone with the winged triforce inside a ring stood in the center. A pedestal faced it. These were once the gateway that led to the realm of twilight, since shattered by the Twilight Princess Midna to prevent another event like the Twilight Crisis. Seven spires stood around the black stone, each bearing the emblem of a sage upon them. Many of the old stones were broken after all the years they had seen, yet a few remained whole.

The highlander started as he heard a voice on the wind. "Cyrus of Gleight…" it whispered. Though it was quiet, the voice could be heard above the rushing winds. The mercenary looked around to see the source of the voice. He thought it came from the direction the wind was blowing, but then also from atop one of the spires, but he saw no one.

"Cyrus of Gleight…" the voice repeated. The voice on the wind was calm, and betrayed great wisdom. There was very little emotional inflection in its words.

"Speak, for I hear," Cyrus answered respectfully. Realization dawned upon the mercenary that the voice he heard must belong to a sage. "You seek for an item of great value…" the voice stated. "You seek the Water Medallion. The emblem of the power of our brother, the fallen Sage of Water, slain by Ganondorf."

"I indeed search for this thing," the mercenary replied. He looked around to try and face the source of the voice, but he still couldn't tell precisely where it was coming from. "Where may it be found?" he asked.

"It is found where such things return when lost," the voice said cryptically. Cyrus thought for a moment. He had his theories on where it could be, but he wanted to be sure. "Where is the place it would return?" he pressed.

"You know. And others may know," whispered the voice of the sages. This answer confirmed what Cyrus thought, that it must be located at the Zora temple at the bottom of Lake Hylia, where the Hero of Time in old days awakened the Sage of Water and received the water medallion originally. Despite having his question answered, another came to the mercenary's mind.

"How can I enter the Lakebed Temple? I am but a lowly highlander…" he queried, saying the last sentence in a softer voice. The answer of the sages came promptly, but the voice seemed to fade at the end of its answer. "The water medallion cannot be procured by one such as yourself. You require the assistance of another. One descended of the hero of time. Only he may receive the medallion."

Cyrus had to bite his tongue. A close friend of his living in Ordon village he knew was descended from the Hero of Time. A Hylian by the name of Murad, but he was different from the legendary hero in more than name only. The hero of time was known to be humble, honorable, and very courageous. The mercenary's friend was cowardly, and sometimes conniving. Even though the mercenary saw all of Murad's lack of qualification, he knew better than to ridicule the advice of the sages. Immediately, he departed, his next destination the small village or Ordon.


	4. Chapter 4

Cyrus was happy to be out of the ancient ruins of the Arbiter's Grounds and the overwhelming acrid smell of dust, death, and decay that permeated there. He was greeted by the small camp of Hylian soldiers. A few were waiting for his return to find if his efforts were fruitful, but most were going about their duties. Among those waiting was the captain.  
"Well?" the captain asked. "Did you meet the sages?" Cyrus shrugged. "Sort of," he answered. "I heard their voices on the wind, but I didn't see them. They did tell me what I came here to find out, though."

"Which was…?" the captain pressed expectantly. The highlander still didn't feel it was necessary to divulge many more details on his assignment than he had previously. "Something to do with my contract for the Zora king. They told me where to find something," he replied distantly, thinking about how he would complete his next leg of the journey.  
The captain continued to press his queries. "Just what is it that you're looking for? You never told me," he asked, a trace of suspicion in his voice, which called Cyrus' attention back to the present.  
"I'm afraid I can't tell you," the mercenary began, thinking of some way to avoid answering the question. Experience taught him that the fewer that knew about his quests, the fewer there would be to interfere. He feared that the captain would feel that the Water Medallion would be something of such importance that it should be a matter taken by the Hylian crown, which would end Cyrus' involvement and his hope of payment. "Customer-provider confidentiality," he said briefly, silencing the matter.  
"I see…" the captain said, turning sideways to the mercenary, still with suspicion in his voice, but he didn't force the issue.  
The captain eventually spoke again. "I suppose you must be on your way, but take a canteen and some food before you leave. It's the least I can do for you after you helped us cleanse the place free of charge." Cyrus winced when he remembered that he had just offered to help the Hylians as a mercy run. "Many thanks," he said through his teeth. "I'd best be out of here immediately. I hate this desert," the mercenary said facing the captain, but speaking to no one in particular.  
The spearman that had defended him earlier in the Arbiter's Grounds stepped forward as the highlander was about to leave. He was closely followed by the new recruit that Cyrus had spoken to earlier. "Where will you go now, Cyrus sir?" asked the recruit. The mercenary felt that he could trust these two enough to divulge at least that information. "Ordon," he said tersely. The spearmen then spoke. "Safe travels. I have a feeling we'll meet again someday."  
"And I as well," Cyrus answered. Suddenly the memory of how he trusted Troas and how that trust went awry crept into his mind, but he still felt that these Hylian soldiers could be trusted, they were after all servants of the crown.  
Without any further words or fanfare the mercenary departed the Hylian camp toward the cliff leading to Lake Hylia. He took a pull from his canteen, grateful to find the water was still cold. He wasn't too concerned about conserving his water at this point. The highlander intended to escape the desert before he could be beset by its many dangers. The sun was beating down relentlessly upon his fair skin already and the heat was as oppressive as ever. He became frustrated as he crested many sand dunes only to see that the landscape didn't change.  
The sun was beginning to roll its way toward evening. Thankfully the mercenary could now see the wide blue expanse of Lake Hylia below. He smiled as he saw that the sun was still hours away from the horizon. It seemed he would be able to leave the harsh and barren desert landscape before dusk fell.  
Cyrus started as a cone of sand blasted out from the desert floor in front of him. Knowing what this was from a similar experience, he drew his sword and prepared to fight the Gerudo that now stood before him. Rather than pointing her pike at him threateningly, however, she only stood before him. "I escaped you only a few short days earlier. You don't give up, do you?" the highlander asked angrily.  
No other Gerudo joined the ambush, unlike last time. The one before Cyrus only looked at him with a puzzled expression. "We don't take prisoners," she said simply. The mercenary burst out into a mirthless laugh. "You think that my mind has been scorched so badly by the desert sun to make me believe you?"  
The other only turned her head slightly and gave Cyrus a sideways look. "Truly. We don't," she defended. The highlander was ready to strike if the Gerudo made any sudden movements. He began to think that this conversation was a diversion to waste time until reinforcements came.  
Realization came upon the denizen of the desert. "You must be thinking of the Gerudos of the fortress. They dishonor our people. We've been trying to restore honor to the name of the Gerudos but they are more numerous than we are, which makes the task difficult," she explained.  
"Who's 'we'?" Cyrus questioned, lowering his sword but not his guard. "Gerudos used to be honorable thieves," the other began. Cyrus scoffed, "'Honorable thieves.' There's no such thing." The Gerudo ignored and continued,"We used to only steal from the strong and those that would not be permanently harmed by our…profession. Since Ganondorf rose to power, however, the Gerudos have become little more than common thugs, for the most part. We're trying to restore some good standing for the whole Gerudo people by reinstating the ancient Gerudo honor code."  
"Dignified language for a cutthroat," the highlander said coolly. His intense facial expression made his sunburned face smart. The Gerudo looked him over. "I see you're a mercenary, but even so you don't appear to be a man of great monetary worth. I have no quarrel with you," she said as she stood her pike up in the sand and stepped away from the weapon to demonstrate her point.  
The mercenary pace forward to stand between the other and the weapon. "I still don't trust you," he stated flatly.  
"What do I have to do to prove that we're not your enemy?" the Gerudo exclaimed, exasperation entering her voice. After waiting a moment with her arms crossed, she looked over at a plant and rubbed out the fibers between her hands. "Just rub this on your sunburns and it will cool them," she said evenly, placing the resultant poultice on the ground in front of Cyrus' feet.  
Suspiciously the mercenary bent down and procured the substance. It did have a cooling sensation and it didn't seem to harm him in any way. Keeping his sword ready and not taking his eyes off the Gerudo he rubbed the poultice on his face and neck. When he finished, Cyrus presented a question. "Why did you stop me?" he asked directly. The other shrugged to reply and then spoke. "If you were any more wealthy I would have demanded all your rupees. I told you that we are honorable thieves. We don't steal from anyone unless they are… within a certain income bracket and can more or less easily recover. Should you have refused I would have knocked you unconscious and relieved you of your money," she answered with undiluted honesty. Cyrus stared at her. His suspicions were rising. "We don't kill people, either, unless we must," the Gerudo finished hastily.  
"Very well…" the highlander trailed as he lifted the other's pike from the sand. "Then we have nothing more to talk about. I'll let you leave unscratched because you showed me some kindness. Thank you." He ended the conversation by hurling the pike far away in the direction opposite where he was going. The Gerudo exhaled sharply, but otherwise seemed unperturbed. "By the way," the thief began as Cyrus began to walk away backwards so he could still see her. "You'll see a dead tree slightly to the east when you reach the cliff edge. It marks the beginning of the trail that leads down to the lake. I assume you would prefer to hike back down than to climb?" she finished as she paced toward her weapon.  
The mercenary didn't answer. He continued to walk away backwards, never taking his eyes off the Gerudo until he was certain she wouldn't bother him. He broke into a light run as he approached the cliff. His sunburns thankfully were no longer hurting.  
Sure enough, after a short jog over a few more sand dunes, Cyrus arrived at the edge of the cliff that was the end of the Gerudo desert. True to the thief's word, off to his east was a great, dead oak long deprived of its life-giving water standing near the edge. The mercenary approached this tree, and found that there indeed was a well-hewn trail leading down the cliffside. He scratched his chin, wondering why he hadn't noticed it before. He felt coarse hairs grown over the last week or so since his journey began. He usually went about clean shaven. He resolved to shave the next chance he had as he began down the trail that led back to the lake.  
The trail wound down the cliff in long switchbacks. Scrub grasses grew in the hard soil, clinging tenaciously to the little water that landed on the cliff face from the occasional rainstorm. Loose rocks were seen on the trail, jutting out of the dirt path. Old posts tied together with rope were the only thing protecting the traveler from falling over the side of the narrow trails. Cyrus' fear of heights didn't affect him at present. He usually was unafraid when he had at least something between himself and the edge.  
The evening sun made the lake twinkle brilliantly. The sparkling water danced in the wind, scattering the reflected sunlight everywhere. When the highlander reached the bottom, he splashed some of the cool water on his face. It was utterly refreshing after having been in the parched, gritty air of the desert for so long. He looked at the sun as it began to retreat behind the cliff. The mercenary decided it would be best if he set up camp for the night. Promptly he entered a small glade and constructed his shelter out of fallen branches and started a fire.  
Crickets were chirping their songs all around him as the sky began to blaze in a brilliant orange from the sunset. The sight was truly stunning. Cyrus stretched back and sighed deeply in contentment. He was very glad to be back in the plainslands of Hyrule that he was so accustomed to. Even though he tried to relax, his stomach growled. The highlander heard fish jumping in the lake, some very large as it sounded. He grabbed his sword and quickly whittled a spear from a stick and set out to get a fish in the dying light.  
After several unsuccessful attempts, he finally managed to spear a sizable greengill. Off in the distance he heard applause and whistling from a single being. In the last minutes of the evening sunlight, the mercenary could see the outline of a Zora perched on a rock a few yards away. Cyrus waved and shook his head as he walked back toward his camp. He could hear splashing as the Zora approached while he put his boots back on.  
"Yum. Greengill, my favorite," said a familiar voice sarcastically.  
"Hi, Salin," Cyrus answered looking up at his friend. The Zora's pronounced nose cast a great shadow on his face in the firelight. The mercenary's friend sat cross-legged on the ground and watched as Cyrus tried to gut the fish with great difficulty using his sword. "You'd have better luck with a rupee than that thing," Salin said as he chuckled. "I wish I had a pictograph."  
The mercenary's eyes widened and color drained from his face as he felt his side for the small bag he kept his money in. "Din burn them! The Gerudos took my rupees!" Cyrus cursed.  
"Gerudos!" Salin exclaimed as his eyes widened as well. "You were attacked by Gerudos while you were in the desert and got away? You've got to tell me how you pulled that one off," he said anxiously, shifting to a more comfortable sitting position. The highlander related the tale of his imprisonment while he finally managed to clean and cook the greengill he had just caught. He continued the story as he and the Zora shared the tasteless meal.  
"I guess that explains how you got your face fuzz," Salin said as he threw the bones from his portion in to the lake. Cyrus scratched his chin. Since he was usually clean shaven, the facial hair made him itch. "I've got a knife you can use to get that stuff off," Salin offered when he noticed his friend scratch his face. He proffered a straight knife that was made out of the same odd coral that most Zoran weapons and armor were made out of. This coral was only found in "Thanks," Cyrus said with a slight smile as he laid down the knife. He wouldn't be able to shave in the dark. "How do you humans stand facial hair?" asked the Zora. The mercenary looked up at the first stars in the sky as he discarded the remnants of his own meal. "Good question," came the response.  
"So what's been happening with you?" asked the highlander after the pair sat in silence for a while. The Zora took a few deep breaths. His gills fluttered slightly and he began to relate the events of the past few days. "Honestly very little," he commenced. "I got the tongue-lashing of several lifetimes when I told my boss that I lost the boat and you almost died. I doubt that I can even show my face around the tour shop for a while," he said with an eyeroll. "Yes, most of the other Zoras that work there tried to defend me, but my former boss, Cora could certainly be hardheaded."  
"Go on," Cyrus urged.  
Salin sighed again. "I needed something to do for work after that, but I didn't know what else I really could do. I don't know any trades, I couldn't stand fishing all day for a living. What's a Zora to do in that situation? So I eventually broke down and decided to enlist in the Zoran army."  
Cyrus sat bolt upright. "You? A regular? I take it you didn't explain to them why you're called the 'Unchained Barracuda' among the other mercenaries?" he exclaimed. "You never could take orders very well."  
"That would have ruined the job. Of course I didn't say anything about that. Then again, I didn't need to," he defended. The highlander's interest was piqued. "The recruiter knew about my previous experience as a mercenary, so instead of starting at the bottom like the rest, I started as an officer. There is a little training that I still need to go through, but I think I'm satisfied with the arrangement."  
The mercenary looked hard at Salin. "Make sure you teach your subordinates a thing or two about what it means to be a soldier," he said eventually with a lot of gravity. "The Zoran army isn't much to be appreciated right now."  
Salin hung his head sadly. The fish tail-like extension off the back of his head flopped to the side and the fins on the side of his head swung forward. "I know," he replied simply. He raised his head and continued. "They're not as bad as you think, though," he said hopefully.  
The mercenary grunted. "Shouldn't you be sleeping in a barracks somewhere right now, by the way?" he queried.  
"Not really. In times of peace a Zoran soldier doesn't actually need to be on a military base or at any particular post unless it's part of his daily duties or he's expressly needed. I just need to show up an hour or so after daybreak," the Zora replied.  
"What if there might be a surprise attack?" Cyrus pressed. Salin only shrugged in response. "I suppose this means you're not helping me with this contract," the highlander added in resignation.  
"It does," the Zora admitted. He looked up at the sky again. The moonlit heavens yielded a display almost as wonderful as the one Cyrus had seen only the day earlier. The light from the fire masked a few stars.  
After a few more minutes Cyrus rose and skipped a rock across the water. He heard it bounce four times and then die away into silence. "Nothing else to do. I guess I'll turn in," he said with a yawn and approached his shelter. "See you again soon, my friend," Salin replied as he dove into the water and splashed away. The mercenary was very tired from his day of fighting undead and from hiking through the desert and back down to the lake and fell asleep immediately.  
The mercenary awoke at dawn feeling more rested than he had in days. He'd at last gotten a full night's sleep. As he awoke he saw a rat near his feet. _Sorry, rat, but I was smart enough to sleep with my boots on_ he thought darkly. Swiftly he stood up, destroying his shelter as he did and kicked the rat far into the lake. "Begone, beast!" he shouted after it. It squeaked in pain and surprise as it vanished into the morning fog and splashed into the water.  
Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Cyrus noticed the smell of smoke in the air. Looking around, he saw that his small campfire was burning. He approached it in confusion. He could see Zora tracks around his fire and another greengill on a spit over the fire. "I didn't put that there… And I heard Salin leave last night..." the highlander muttered blearily. As he looked down again at the tracks, he noticed a wooden tablet with a message written with a piece of charcoal in immaculate handwriting on it.  
The mercenary removed the fish from the spit and inspected it. Nothing smelled or tasted out of the ordinary, so he was certain it wasn't poisoned. He took the fish to be his breakfast and sat down to read the tablet.  
"My Dearest Cyrus, I swam down to the lake to watch the sunrise this morning and found you camped here. I prepared a fish for your breakfast. I would have waited for you to awaken and then taken the next leg of your journey with you. It absolutely pains me that I must be separated from you this long, my sweet one, but I was found by a guard on his morning patrol and forced to return to Zora's Domain. Return to me soon my dearest. I await you eagerly. Deepest love, Princess Ruto.  
"P.S. When you do return, please tell me what you would like our wedding colors to be," the note read. The shape of a small Zora's Sapphire was inscribed by the Princess' signature. Cyrus was a little disturbed that Ruto had been found him out and was waiting for him to awaken at camp, but he still appreciated the breakfast she had prepared. He threw the tablet into the fire and began his morning devotions to the gods before breaking camp and preparing to resume his journey to Ordon. Just before he was about to leave, his face itched again and he remembered that he was going to use Salin's knife to shave. He found the knife sharpened and laid out nicely on a rock. The mercenary presumed that this was Ruto's doing as well.  
He managed to perform the task without cutting himself and he retained the knife, planning to return it to the owner the next chance he had. The highlander ran a hand over his lower face to see if he had shaved completely. That and his reflection in the placid lake corroborated that he was now clean shaven.  
Cyrus scanned around the cliff face to see if there was a trail that led up to Hyrule Field. It wasn't a potential climb that he was afraid of, but it was the clown that operated the cannon to launch his customers to the field he wanted to avoid. He sighed deeply as he saw that there was no such trail, and the Great Cannon was his only way out. Approaching the cannon, the clown recognized him instantly and began to sing his limerick he had made about the "Forlorn Mercenary and the Zora Princess."  
"I thought the extra rupees last time shut you up," Cyrus grumbled to the other. He was completely ignored while the clown continued to sing in a cheery voice,  
"A highlander wand'ring for love met a lonely Zora.  
"She was a Princess! What a lucky fella!  
"And now the Zora's Sapphire  
"Hangs upon his chest from a golden wire!"  
Cyrus rolled his eyes. "Are you through?" he asked impatiently. The clown chortled merrily. "You can't blame me for playing my part, can you now?" he returned with a wide grin. This clown was dressed in the same pink harlequin outfit that showed off his large belly that Cyrus had last seen him wear before. Coupled with a bright yellow pointed hat and chartreuse shoes with curls on the end, he looked as if he had taken great care to make sure his outfit was as gaudy as possible.  
His wide smile still remained. "Did you enjoy your trip to the desert?" he chimed after they stood in silence briefly. The mercenary had folded his arms in front of him. "I found what I went for, if that's what you mean," he replied flatly.  
The clown's large grin seemed to lengthen very slightly. "Were ya looking for a Gerudo girlfriend?" he asked mischievously. At the mention of the name of the desert thieves, he brought his hand up to his face and dragged it down. "Some met the edge of my sword," he began. The clown interrupted, "That wasn't very nice," he interjected with mock disappointment in his voice. The mercenary glared at him. Normally he wouldn't have minded the clown's behavior, but his singing about him and Ruto struck a nerve and he came to dislike the clown rather strongly since.  
Cyrus managed to continue his thought, "They filched all my rupees," he groaned. "I can't afford your service, but I need to get up there," he continued, pointing up at the normal destination of the great cannon, a flamboyantly painted funhouse on the cliff's edge.  
The clown's face drooped and he spoke again in mock hurt "I know… I know… Everyone wants to play up at Dropyas. No one cares about poor Blasti unless they want to get out of the lake. I get it," he sobbed, wiping his eyes and blowing his nose very loudly into a handkerchief.  
"Pardon me," the mercenary forced with sarcasm. The clown's wide grin returned quickly. "No harm done," he chirped happily, dancing around a little. His hat bobbed as he did. "To most I'd say you could easily scratch together fifteen rupees around the lake. Lots of money is laying around here, but I'll let you go for free since you gave me some material for good rhymes and you overpaid me quite a bit on the last trip."  
For the first time since speaking to the clown today, the mercenary's expression brightened. "Truly?" he asked hopefully. The clown nodded vigorously, shaking his hat and jingling the bell on top of it. "I'd even let you listen to one about you and the Gerudo, but it takes me a while to make up my rhymes, you know. Step right on up to the cannon!" he crowed, pointing both fingers to the entrance to the great machine.  
The mercenary graciously thanked the harlequin and tentatively entered the cannon. The door slammed behind him and left him in darkness. Outside he could hear the clown rolling the crank on his calliope organ, which strangely enough seemed to be the mechanism to use the cannon. After a few seconds of joyful music, there was a bright flash and loud explosion that rocketed Cyrus out of the cannon, over the lake, and safely onto the funhouse landing pad.  
The mercenary shuddered when he landed. He hoped that he had just gone through his last cannon ride for a long time. Drawing himself up, Cyrus left the funhouse ignoring the attractions. He had something more important to attend to.  
The plains of Hyrule Field were a welcome sight to the mercenary; he felt very much at home here. Gently rolling hills blanketed in flowing verdant grasses dotted with occasional trees and flowers were as refreshing to him as the crisp air. The silvery Zora's River pierced its way across the field, spanned by a few bridges. After admiring the scenery and making note of the few roving bokoblins on the field, he turned south toward Ordon.  
Cyrus navigated easily through the misty Faron Woods that stood between Hyrule Field and the small hamlet of Ordon. He knew this land well, having lived there for a few years after he had run from Gleight. The mercenary was well known and respected throughout the small community as a man of courage and integrity, despite his being a mercenary. There was even a spirited young woman there that once held his eye but she had since married and moved to Kakariko Village in the Eldin Province.  
Murad's house was the first in Ordon. It stood alone on the northern part of the small town, nestled in a forest glade. The house had been in the family of the Legendary Hero for generations, built partially in a hollowed-out tree with a ladder to climb up to the door. Cyrus shouted loudly to Murad, but no response came. He decided to try knocking on the door, but the ladder was occupied by a skullwalltula. The mercenary threw a rock at it, disposing of the vermin.  
The highlander knocked and called loudly at the door, but still no answer came. He even tried to open it, but found it locked. "He must be at the ranch," Cyrus considered when he noticed that Murad's horse Brighthoof was missing. "Both the horse and the rider are neither named nor behaved like their ancestors in legend," the mercenary mused. Brighthoof, unlike her ancestors that were usually named "Epona," she was a very calm horse and responded well to nearly anyone. She did retain the rust colored coat and white mane of her predecessors, however.  
As Cyrus headed south into the village, he caught the scent of the ranch on the wind. A few houses, a watermill, and a shop stood between him and the ranch which stood at the far south end of Ordon. Only a few villagers were out today as most were off at work. Two of the village women were seated on a bench and they noticed the highlander approaching.  
"Well if it isn't Cyrus!" exclaimed the younger of the two. She was slim and young with shoulder length blond hair, the other was slightly rotund, she was a mother a few times over with long brunette hair tied back in a ponytail. "Welcome back, deary," the older of the two said warmly.  
"Nice to see you again, Mia. Lara," the mercenary addressed politely. The younger was Mia and Lara was the older. "How are your families?" he asked.  
Lara was the first to answer. "Oh, the kids are just as rambunctious as usual and my husband is probably lazing about somewhere. Honestly, if you want anything done that man is nowhere to be found," she said turning to Mia. The mercenary chuckled slightly. Lara and her husband loved each other dearly, as much as they sometimes complained about each other.  
"How about you, Mia?" he asked, turning to the younger woman. She stretched out her legs and ran her hair behind her ears. "Ronny's been doing very well. Calos just taught him how to fish and the boy is absolutely overjoyed," she paused briefly and placed a hand on her belly. "We might have another one on the way," she said a little more quietly. The mercenary tried to identify any signs of pregnancy when Lara spoke up. "Oh Mia, deary just because you vomit two mornings in a row doesn't mean you're with child," she said jovially.  
"Lara!" Mia scolded as she looked in feigned shock at her friend. "How unladylike!" she continued.  
"Lighten up, deary," the other jabbed back playfully.  
_The place hasn't changed at all. It still feels like a home to me_, the highlander thought with a smile. Before he could carry on his conversation, his pointed ear heard voices down the lane. The village children were at play near the stream that ran through the town. They were six in total. One aged about six was Ronny. He had the same brilliant golden hair of his mother. He was a little timid at times.  
Lara's three children, two boys and a girl were all standing together aged ten, eight, and seven respectively. Each was brunette like both of their parents. The oldest, Talso had tousled hair a little longer than the other boys and was the wildest of the three. The next, Malso was quiet, intelligent, and rather blunt. All this coupled with a young appearance for his age often unsettled even many adults. The last of Lara's children was her daughter Tami. She fit the profile of many girls her age, very prim and chatty and wanted to grow up to be a princess.  
The last two were young twin girls, six years old named Molly and Boo. They were the daughters of the shopkeeper and his wife. They looked and acted very similarly. Both had sandy hair tied into pigtails.  
Talso stood upon a boulder and raised a stick high in the air. "I'm the king of Hyrule!" he proclaimed triumphantly. Molly tried to struggle her way up onto the rock. "Can I be Princess Zelda?" she asked. Before Talso said anything, Malso spoke in his usual quiet voice, but he was loud enough to be heard over the clamboring children. "Cyrus…"  
Just as he said this, all of the children noticed the highlander had returned to Ordon and ran all at once toward him. Cyrus was a little uncomfortable around children. He never knew how precisely to act around them, but he tried his best and he was good friends with the children of Ordon village. As soon as they got close they all began to shower him with their voices, so much that he had a hard time telling who was saying what.  
"Are you back to stay?"  
"Can I see your sword?"  
"Did you bring me anything?"  
"Look at this bug I found!"  
"Wanna play with us?"  
"Tell us about your cool adventures!"  
"Talso said he saw a moblin yesterday, but he's lying."  
Beyond this Cyrus couldn't distinguish what was being said to him. He found that Boo and Molly were now hugging his legs tightly. He placed a hand on the backs of their heads and tried to address some of the children barraging him with questions and requests.  
Lara laughed. "As you can see we've all been looking forward to a visit!" she said cheerfully.  
The mercenary smiled and was able to pry the twins off his legs and he knelt down so he was on eye level with the children. "I'm sorry, but I can't stay for very long. I'm actually on a job right now," he said somberly. Six children and Mia all groaned. Lara looked over at Mia with a disapproving look on her face that changed to a smile.  
"Why would your work bring you to Ordon?" asked Malso.  
"What do you need to do this time?" followed Ronny.  
The mercenary looked over all of them solemnly. "Can you keep a secret?" he whispered. Five heads nodded vigorously in the affirmative. Malso only answered with a look as if to ask Cyrus why he would dare treat him like a child.  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: Bending close, the highlander explained to the youths "I need to get something very important for the Zora King," he began. All of the children answered with a uniform "Oooooh…"  
"Problem is," Cyrus continued. "I can't even touch it. Somebody that's descended from the Legendary Hero is the only one that can, so I'm here to get Murad to help me."  
All of their young eyes were fixed on him anxiously. Cyrus looked up at the sun. He decided that he may need to stay the night in Ordon as much of the day had already been spent trekking across Hyrule Field. "But I'm going to be here until tomorrow," he said. Each of the children cheered and raced toward the stream again, beckoning to him.  
As the highlander was about to join the children he shrugged toward the two women. Mia spoke to Lara as he left. "I don't know why he thinks he's not good with children. They love him. It's kind of cute," she said as she watched them play.  
Cyrus played with the children of Ordon for a long while. They had him play as himself most of the time because they felt he was interesting enough as he was. Talso was a little reluctant to allow this, as he usually played the brave red-haired mercenary in their games, but in the end he conceded. He found his services were often required to guard the beautiful Princess Zelda, defend the kingdom against the evil bulbins, and lift heavy rocks. In exchange for his invaluable service to the kingdom of Hyrule, he was paid in anything the children could find to represent rupees, be it small pebbles, leaves, or even an actual green rupee that one of them had discovered.  
As Cyrus was getting worn down by the seemingly limitless energy the children had, all the mothers in the small hamlet called their children to supper. Each child invited the highlander to join them. Over the voices of the children he managed to ask who was hosting Murad that day, if anyone. Lara answered that she was, and that she would be happy to have Cyrus over as well. Cyrus graciously accepted and joined the family at the table while they waited for Tami to bring Murad.  
Just over a couple minutes later, Tami trotted in and announced that Murad would be in soon. Her bare feet made a soft thudding noise on the floor as she took a seat next to Cyrus. Talso sat to his other side and Malso sat on Tami's other side while Lara and Markus her husband were next to Talso.  
Shortly after plates were prepared for everyone, the door opened and there stood Murad, descendant of the legendary Hero of Time. He looked almost exactly like those that were before him, but his jawline was not as pronounced and was more rounded. His sandy blond hair was sweaty from a hard day of manual labor at the ranch. He wore inexpensive and patched clothing with a long green sleeve on one side crudely stitched to his shirt. He wore a very wide belt just like most Ordonians.  
Murad's eyes widened upon seeing Cyrus at the table then his expression hardened slightly. He felt that any time Cyrus came to Ordon it was to recruit him to help on one of his jobs, and he was never willing to go. He took his seat wordlessly between Malso and Lara.  
"Well, now that everyone's here, we can dig in," announced Markus. Most of the family could feel the tension between Cyrus and Murad already and not much was said. Talso broke the silence and said to Cyrus "When I grow up, I want to be a mercenary just like you!" he proudly stated. The highlander looked apologetically at the child's parents. Markus smiled but Lara looked concerned.  
Murad responded to Talso's proclamation. "I think you'd rather do some honest work for a living," he said quietly. Talso sat and thought for a moment, a forkfull of food held slightly above his plate. Eventually he answered "Nah, working on the ranch is boring. I'd rather fight bad guys all day!" he decided, taking a large mouthful.  
Malso quietly mumbled something, but nobody pressed him to see what he said as this was his usual behavior. Conversation had ceased for a moment, until Tami looked in disgust at the vegetables on her plate. "I don't want to eat my celery," she declared, pushing her plate away. It was devoid of all other food except for the vegetables. All around the table the diners tried different things to coax and persuade the young girl to finish her meal. Murad and Cyrus remained silent, both knowing that each method would result in failure.  
The mercenary looked over at his longtime friend, who had warmed up to Cyrus' arrival in Ordon village because he hadn't immediately tried to cajole him into leaving to help with the highlander's contract. "You know what will stop this," he mouthed to the descendant of the Hero of Legend. Everyone at the dinner table was still trying to convince Tami to eat her food. Murad's shoulders dropped and he looked at the mercenary with an expression that showed both surprise and mortification. "Do it," Cyrus pressed.  
"Alright, I suppose it's the only way," Murad replied quietly, rolling his eyes. He began sobbing loudly and the whole table fell silent. "If… if you don't eat your celery Tami," he began in a wounded voice. "You'll meet an early end. I couldn't stand it if you…" he choked on the last words and began to weep loudly once again.  
Tami quickly pulled her plate back and began to shovel down the celery. "Don't cry, Murad. I'll do it for you!" she said cheerfully, trying to calm down the young man. Murad sniffed loudly. "Thank you Tami. I couldn't live without you," he sobbed gratefully.  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 15px; font-family: Arial; color: #000000; background-color: Tami's brothers both stared at Murad in wide-eyed disbelief. Talso because he was surprised at the sudden outburst, and Malso because he was utterly disgusted that the descendant of the Hero would put on such a scene. Cyrus hid his face behind his free left hand trying to hide his stifled laughter and Markus applauded silently and thankfully. Lara leaned over to Murad and whispered "Thanks deary. You're the only one that can get her to eat her greens."  
"Don't mention it. Please," Murad whispered back.  
Once everyone was finished with their meal, Lara entered the kitchen and returned with a large pumpkin pie with fresh forks and plates for everyone present. She managed to balance everything while fending away her children at the same time. Everyone quickly devoured their portions, the children attempting to convince others at the table to relinquish their slices, except for Cyrus, who was well known for being very jealous of his own food.  
"Oh, Murad! Cyrus wanted to ask you something!" Talso suddenly piped up.  
The young descendant of the hero folded his arms in front of him and leaned back in his chair to appear very defensive. "I know what he wants and my answer is that there is absolutely no way in…" he began but was interrupted by the mercenary.  
"That's er… not a good subject for the dinner table," Cyrus cut in hastily. He feared to expose the young ears of the children to the colorful and heated language that might come between himself and Murad when they would have their discussion.  
Eventually all relaxed and conversations around the table resumed, each discussing no subject in particular. The children often pressed Cyrus to relate some stories of his adventures. He duly recalled a few of that he felt were more appropriate for his audience. A favorite of the village children's' was the story of how he and his unit had imprisoned nearly an entire contingent of bulbins by catching them in fly-up traps and nets. The children especially loved the mercenary's imitations of the noises the foul creatures made when they were caught. However tonight's performance wasn't as involved as usual because Cyrus feared to embarrass himself in front of adults.  
After the last of Cyrus' riveting tales with commentary by the children on their favorite stories, Lara noticed the light in the fireplace was beginning to die. "Alright kids, it's time for bed," she ordered. The three children groaned. "Can't we PLEASE stay up a little longer?" Talso pleaded. "I want to hear some more of Cyrus' stories." The highlander shook his head. "I think I'm done for the night, young'un. I've been on the road all day and I'm beat. I'm sure that Murad's pretty tired, too from working at the ranch all day," came the refusal.  
"Yeah, I bet getting rammed by goats all afternoon would make you tired," Malso mumbled. Murad didn't seem to notice.  
"Do you have a place to stay tonight?" Markus asked politely. Cyrus looked over at his friend. "I'll be staying with Murad tonight," he declared. The descendent of the Hero looked disapprovingly at the mercenary, but remained silent. He knew why Cyrus wanted to stay the night at his home specifically.  
They all then bid each other goodnight and Murad and the highlander left to their lodgings for the evening. The mercenary took a deep, satisfied breath of the Ordonian night air. "Ahhh… It's good to be back," he sighed contentedly. Murad huffed. "Och, spare me the pleasantries, Cyrus. I know that the only reason you came to Ordon again to was to ask me to go one another one of your hair-brained adventures. That's the ONLY reason you ever come back here. You make me sick. You never come to Ordon for a normal visit. Do you care about anyone here at all, least of all me? You know I hate it when you drag me away from home for this kind of thing," he scolded.  
Cyrus folded his arms and assumed a defensive posture. "I do care Murad, I just… never find myself down here that often. Yes, I may be wrong never to come by just to visit once in a while, but I'm frequently tied down with work," he contended.  
The other barked a mirthless laugh. "You really don't care. I know perfectly well what you do. You can take a break anytime you're in between jobs and if you get a good enough contract you can go some time without working. Especially since you fancy yourself a wild man that can live off the land and doesn't need rupees to survive anyway. What in the name of Nayru do you do with it all?" Murad demanded.  
"Living off the land is no way to live, it's only to survive," the mercenary responded calmly. "I know you must be upset. You're not the adventuring type and that's all I've ever asked of you. But why must you come back so heatedly? We were practically brothers for years." Cyrus tried to remain as calm as possible. Getting defensive would only make it more difficult to convince Murad to come along with him. He continued to plead "I know that it upsets you when I ask these things of you…"  
Murad cut in "It's not that you ask these things of me that I find bothersome, it's that that's the ONLY reason you ever even talk to me anymore that upsets me," he interrupted coolly.  
Cyrus ignored the remark and continued. "If I could have it any other way I wouldn't be asking you this, but I absolutely need you this time. The task is to retrieve the water medallion, and only one with the blood of the Hero running through his veins can procure it."

Murad averted his eyes and stared off into the distance. Cyrus considered what he could say to coax his friend to join him. "Since you'd be such an integral part of this job, I'd give you a fair percentage of the reward," he offered.  
"No Cyrus," came the flat reply. "I don't care how much you're going to pay me. Some things just go beyond money. I don't exactly expect you to understand that," he grumbled.  
"I'll come by Ordon just to spend some time here once in a while," the mercenary suggested. At this, Murad only huffed sharply and said nothing. Finally he spoke up again. "It's too late for that Cyrus. We may have been like brothers, but that was years ago. Now all you are to me is a mercenary that used to live here," he answered gravely.  
Now the highlander was truly stung by what had just been said. Even though their relationship was fairly difficult, Cyrus still loved Murad as a brother and wished nothing but the best for him. Hearing that one person of that relationship no longer felt the same way pained him deeply. He took a step closer. Underneath his shirt the Zora's Sapphire shone in a soft blue glow. Suddenly a memory came to the mercenary's mind. He remembered the calming influence the strange artifact had upon him when he was fighting the Gerudo queen, he wondered if it would have the same effect on Murad.  
"Do you happen to know what this is?" Cyrus asked, feigning that he still didn't know anything about the Zora's Sapphire while he drew it forth. Murad knew well the history of Hyrule because of his family's integral role in it, so he expected the descendant to know something about it. The mercenary hoped that he would look at him long enough to recognize the jewel and ask to hold it to inspect it, thus bringing forth its miraculous emotional healing power.  
"It looks like the Zora's Sapphire. A decent replica, I must say," the descendant of the Hero admitted, frustration leaving his voice because of the change of subject. "Where'd you get it?" Murad asked.  
Cyrus shrugged. "I saved a Zora maiden's life. She certainly was wearing a lot of jewelry, including this pendant. I think she might have been nobility," he replied innocently. Murad's eyes widened. "Let me see that!" he demanded. The mercenary smiled within himself. As requested, he proffered the glittering gem.  
Astonishment, wonder, and confusion manifested themselves all at the same time on Murad's face. "Do you… know what this means, Cyrus?" he questioned seriously. Everything was going according to the highlander's plan, but Murad's emotions didn't seem to be waning much. He tried to prolong the ruse to give the magic time to work, if it needed to. "No, what does it mean?" he asked with intrigue.  
Murad looked at Cyrus again. "This means… If what you said is true, a heavily jeweled Zora may well have been nobility indeed, much more than that, in fact. She could only be the Zora Princess…" The mercenary's eyes widened in shock. The descendant of the Hero continued. "This thing is sometimes called the Zora's Engagement Ring. Cyrus, you are the unwitting fiancee of the Zora Princess!"  
Cyrus burst out "Is THAT what this jewel means?" repeating his same words and behavior as best he could from when he first found what the Zora's Sapphire truly was. Murad was still holding the gem, but no brilliant sea blue light or emotional calm like that had come like it had for Cyrus in the Gerudos' Fortress. Why wasn't it working?  
Murad returned the Sapphire while a roguish grin crossed his face. "You lucky son of a bulbin," the descendant of the Hero said. Even if the magic that had influenced Cyrus didn't affect Murad, he still had to maintain his farce. The mercenary stared nowhere in particular in disbelief, woodenly holding on to the chain that the Sapphire hung from. "I… I…" the mercenary stammered. He stopped before he said something that would sound unlike himself.  
The two stood silent for a moment, then suddenly Murad's voice rose into a loud laugh. "Imagine you marrying a Princess! And you didn't even know you were. What a surprise that would have been if you never found out! Wahahaha!" he chortled. Cyrus mechanically replaced the Zora's Sapphire inside his shirt. The mercenary waited patiently for Murad to regain his composure. When he finally did he wiped and escaped tear from his eye and addressed his friend again. "You know what? I think I will go with you," he declared. Cyrus had real disbelief on his face now. "You will?" he asked hopefully.  
"Oh yes," Murad answered, the same mischievous smile making its way onto his face. "Seeing you get married to a Zora Princess you didn't even know you were engaged to will not only be a shock that will be hilarious to watch, it will effectively end your mercenary career. You won't have to come over here to drag me out on your ridiculous adventures anymore! And if it's going to stop you from dragging me around, of course I'll help you," he replied, hope rising in his own voice as he followed that line of thought. He continued in a more level tone. "You'll of course have to visit every once in a while," he added with the smile still on his face.  
"Certainly," Cyrus answered distantly. "I guess we'll be square after this one," said the mercenary. Murad froze. "Hold on now," he growled. "We've been 'even' for a while. In fact, I'd say you owe me!" he retorted. The pair then commenced an argument on who owed who, if anyone was owed that lasted until they both arrived at Murad's home and were asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Dawn came quickly for Cyrus and Murad. The mercenary awoke to find his friend already risen and preparing for the journey. "You're up," Cyrus mumbled blearily. Murad repeated the same words in mock surprise. "You have to get up early when you work on a ranch," he added. While the mercenary rose, Murad became solemn. "Would you mind waiting outside? There's some breakfast on a cloth out on the table. There's some private preparation I'd like to do," he proposed quietly.

Cyrus nodded. "I understand," he answered with gravity, procuring his breakfast and exiting the house and leaving Murad to himself. As soon as he heard the door close, the descendent of the Legendary Hero opened a chest that had been in his home for many generations. Inside was the proud, forest green tunic worn by the bloodline of Heroes. Murad had never worn these clothes, but something inside him said that for this task it would be best to wear it.

After dressing in the clothes of the Hero, Murad examined himself in a mirror. "It fits. Physically, at least," he thought. "But does it fit mentally?" he wondered solemnly. In the looking glass, though he was dressed in the clothes, he didn't look much like the Hero of Legend. He didn't have the same hard yet loving eyes that those of the bloodline bore. Gradually, a memory surfaced in the descendent's mind. It was of his dying grandfather, Link, who had saved Hyrule from the Twilight. "Murad," he said long ago in his quivering voice brought about with age. "You may not bear the same name as those of the Bloodline, but make no mistake, you are entitled to every right of it. You may not be as courageous, but courage can be found. There will come a time when you must don the tunic. Do so proudly!"

Eventually Murad emerged from his home to find Cyrus sitting in the shade absently picking at the blades of grass. "You're finally out. Just what was all that preparation you were..." the mercenary trailed when he saw Murad in the green tunic and hat. Without waiting for the highlander to say anything else, he spoke "I said that I was going to help you and I will. Let's just get this over with."

Cyrus hopped to his feet and headed to the forest. "Excellent!" he chimed, slapping his friend on the back and causing him to stumble. "We'll be back before you know it. Oh!" he started. Murad peered anxiously into the forest in case the mercenary saw something in there to prompt Cyrus' reaction. "What is it?" he asked hesitantly.

"I can't believe I forgot! We're going to the Lakebed temple. You once told me that you had some fancy armor that lets you breathe underwater. We'll need it. Did you bring it?" the mercenary asked. Murad nonchalantly pulled a helmet out of a small pouch on his belt. It was a bright bronze color and resembled the head of a fish. "Always prepared," Murad said flatly as he began to enter the forest north of his home.

Cyrus looked on in perplexity. "How on earth did you fit the Zora Armor into that little pouch? Come to think of it, how did you even get that helmet in there?" he queried in confusion. Murad only shrugged and walked on, trailed closely by the mercenary.

After a short trek through the Faron Woods, the pair were greeted by the verdant expanse of Hyrule field. Angling east, they walked quickly, Murad because he was eager to finish the journey and Cyrus to keep up. They heard a high pitched and guttural battle cry, betraying the presence of five blue skinned bokoblins. These creatures had short legs, long arms, white bristly hair and a thirst for blood. Fortunately for the travellers, they were also unintelligent and unskilled with their wooden clubs. Even so, Murad was about to turn and run, but Cyrus seized his arm. "Stand firm, you weakling. We can take on five of this ugly mongrels. One of us could take on five of them, for Faron's sake," he encouraged gruffly, drawing his sword and readying his shield. Murad did the same with a shaky hand.

"Stand to the left," the mercenary ordered. Murad was left handed like most of his ancestors. "You know how to use a sword. I know you do," Cyrus said, nudging the other forward. "We won't have a problem here."

The five bokoblins then charged the pair, clubs held high. The mercenary severely wounded two with a lethal slash of his sword while Murad thrusted through the chest of another. The other two shifted toward Murad when they noticed his hesitation. As one they brought their clubs down with little result. One of the bokoblins missed entirely and the other had his attack absorbed by the Hylian shield used so often by the Heroes of Legend. Responding quickly to the attack, Murad slashed one of the monsters while Cyrus pierced the exposed back of the other.

"You might not be the bravest, but you are a decent swordsman," the mercenary conceded, wiping off his blade. Murad only mumbled in reply as he cleaned his own sword. The pair resumed their journey without incident to Lake Hylia. Cyrus noticed with great dismay that the only way down to the lake had to be the funhouse game that involved the customer holding on to a cuccoo and drift down to the lake. For small birds, cuccoos had powerful enough wings to greatly slow the fall of a fully grown man. While the mercenary wasn't at all eager to attempt the feat, Murad was rather enthusiastic.

"Now it's my turn to be the brave one," he said jokingly. "There's nothing to worry about. If you do fall, you keep your body straight and point your toes down you'll be fine," he encouraged. Cyrus only grumpled as he gripped his cuccoo's legs. "Now don't grab too hard or you'll hurt the cuccoo!" the barker warned.

Loosening his grip only slightly, the highlander charged off the edge, closing his eyes and holding on desperately to the small bird that was entrusted his life. He flew in a straight line, not caring where he landed so long as he did so safely. Murad was close behind, angling himself toward a small island close to the pit that held the entrance to the Lakebed Temple.

Eventually the two reunited near the pit. "Ok, the map says that the Lakebed Temple is just down there," Murad stated while examining his map and pointing into the water. Cyrus squatted down and looked into the lake. "Looks like everything's going according to plan," he thought to himself. He then stood up and addressed Murad. "How's this going to work as we're swimming down there? You only have one suit of Zora Armor," he said with concern.

At this, Murad reached into his pocket and pulled out a black coif. "This is the part of the Zora Armor that will let you breathe underwater," he explained. "I guess we can just trade it between the two of us as we need it while we're swimming down," the descendent of the Hero suggested.

Before the highlander could reply, a voice rang out over the lake. Cyrus' heart sank and color drained from his face as the splashing of a swimming Zora as she called out again. "Cyrus!" she shouted affectionately. A wide smile found its way on Murad's face. He gathered that this must be the Zora Princess that Cyrus had met before. As Ruto emerged from the lake, the sunlight caught the water that was on her magenta tinted skin and gave her a bright sheen. She looked very beautiful.

Just as the last time the Princess had met Cyrus at Lake Hylia, she rushed to him and embraced, but this time the mercenary raised his arms to keep her from pinning them to his sides. "Why must you keep me waiting?" she asked with a little hurt in her voice. Though she didn't seem to acknowledge Murad's presence, he was enjoying watching Cyrus squirm as the Zora Princess fawned on him.

The mercenary managed to struggle free of the loving embrace. "Ruto…" he began. The Zora Princess closed the very slight distance between herself and the mercenary and asked "Did you see the tablet I left you last time, dearest? What did you want our wedding colors to be?" Murad's grin widened when Cyrus let out an exasperated sigh.

Suddenly, Ruto jolted. "Oh, by the powers, where are my manners?" she demanded of herself. "Very unbecoming of a Princess," she added under her breath, turning toward Murad. "I am the Princess of the Zora Tribe, next in line to inherit the throne of our people. I am the daughter of King Ralis V and my name is Ruto XVI," she proclaimed stately, just as she was instructed to do when introducing herself to others. "Who would you be?" she asked politely of the descendent of the Hero. "My name is Murad or Ordon. Descendent of the Bloodline of the Heroes of Legend," he answered in an equally stately manner, bowing low and kissing the Zora maiden's webbed hand, the grin never leaving his face.

Ruto turned again to Cyrus, the sweet and affectionate tone of her voice returning. "Is he your best man?" she asked. Cyrus shook his head. "No," he answered bluntly. "You remember that I told you we were on an errand for your father?"

"I do, my sweet one," the Princess answered. "I do…" she repeated softly, looking deep into Cyrus eyes while lightly stroking his jawline. The mercenary averted his gaze and looked down into the Lake. "I needed Murad to come along with me. We're going to the Lakebed Temple," he declared.

Ruto's expression brightened. "I can come with you for this leg of your journey!" she replied with joy. Murad's smile shortened slightly, but it was still there. The mercenary shook his head. "It's still too dangerous. Even with two experienced fighters protecting you," the highlander refused. He thought of something else to discourage Ruto from trying to join the journey. "Besides, you're the only heir to the Zoran throne. Should you be lost down there... Think of your people!"

Undaunted, Ruto answered "I can be of great help to you. I see that your friend has the Zora Armor, or at least the mask. When one of you goes down there with it, I can swim it back to whoever's waiting. And the Lakebed Temple has many areas only accessible to a Zora, my love. Why wouldn't it? We built it," she pressed.

Cyrus continued his refusal. "And what if we run into some evil down there? That's exactly the kind of danger I'm talking about!" he defended, crossing his arms. For the first time since he had met her, Ruto's expression turned sour. "I'm not helpless, you know," she replied indignantly. The highlander was getting impatient. "With or without your guards?" he grunted, almost below hearing.

In answer, Ruto suddenly whipped around, her fins and the fish tail off her head twirling with her. Moving too fast for him to react, the Princess had slid behind Murad. She grabbed his arm and flipped him over in front of her, causing him to land hard with a loud thud on his stomach. She then put one knee on the center of his back, pinning him to the ground and pointed a hardened fin at the back of his neck. Cyrus stared in disbelief while Murad roared "Why did it have to be me?" angrily.

The descendent quickly regained his composure however. "We can use one more good fighter!" he pleaded to Cyrus. "And her suggestion to ferry the Zora Armor isn't to be ignored, either. Let her come." The mercenary bowed his head down slightly. He felt something stir inside of him at the show of force, but he pushed it away. He absentmindedly felt for the Zora's Sapphire under his shirt. "I… can't… Your Father wouldn't…" the highlander stammered. He finally heaved an exasperated sigh of resignation. He couldn't think of anything to say that would deter the Princess from joining the venture. "Fine, you can come," he conceded.

The Princess looked up at Cyrus and beamed, then launched off of Murad and winded him. She catapulted into the highlander, knocking him into the ground, embracing and kissing him while he was pinned down. "Oh, thank you dearest!" she cried in unrestrained gratitude. Murad picked himself up and began to put on the whole suit of Zora Armor over his own clothes. "Come on, we need to get moving," he ordered.

"Get off!" Cyrus commanded the Princess gruffly and breathlessly, trying to push her away with pinned arms. Wrenching himself free he said in a more level tone, "Please don't do that again, Princess." Ruto inclined her head slightly and answered in the most apologetic tone she could muster. "Forgive me, my dear one. I don't mean to harm or offend you. If I ever can…" the Princess began but was interrupted by Murad who hissed for silence.

The group listened carefully, and soon all could hear the distant shrieks of tektites nearing them. By the number of cries, it sounded to be a very large pack. "Uh oh…" Murad whimpered nervously. Ruto hardened her fins and dropped into a defensive position. "We stand together! As any husband and wife," she declared resolutely. Cyrus ran a hand through his rust colored hair and huffed. "You two get down to the temple. I'll hold them off up here," he ordered.

Ruto shifted her eyes to her betrothed. "We won't leave until they're gone," she defended. The tektites were quickly closing distance. The three could see them on the water now. "Besides, you won't need to hold them off, dearest, they can't go below the surface…" Cyrus cut her off. "MOVE!" he bellowed forcefully, shoving both Murad and the Princess into the water with great highlander strength. He whipped around and drew his sword to prepare for the onslaught. The Princess looked on with a stunned expression, but a tug on her arm from Murad helped her collect herself again. "Be safe, my love," she whispered as she watched the mercenary brace for the first wave. She turned and dove into the water in fluidic motion, her jewelry jingling from the quick movement. Murad was close behind.

The highlander saw a few dozen tektites as they neared, their animalian one-eyed gazes fixed on him hungrily. Out of the crowd, he could make out one tektite with a purple carapace, rather than the same light blue the rest bore. He presumed this must be the alpha. The tektites began to charge as he shifted himself to face their leader. A few leapt toward him, and in response the highlander swung his blade in a mighty arc, wounding many of the beasts.

This time, the mercenary went on the offensive. He leapt toward the alpha, cleaving one of the insectile enemies and landing on another with enough force to crush it. The larger and purple alpha was still behind two layers of tektites. Cyrus scampered away just before he was surrounded, slicing at another in his flight, taking off two of its legs. The highlander roared a battle cry of his people. While he did, something deep inside that he had tried to bury when he went to live life as a more civilized Hylian awoke...

Both Ruto and Murad could hear the roar, even below the water. "I hope my dearest is alright. I shouldn't have left him," the Princess scolded herself. Her voice sounded the same below the water as it did above, but Murad's own sound was amplified yet distorted like every other noise was underwater. "He'll be fine," he assured. Ruto looked to him hopefully. "It takes more than a few tektites to stop Cyrus." The Princess had to let this calm her and she began to swim forward. Even weighed down with so much jewelry, she effortlessly and gracefully flowed in her movement. Moving very rapidly she looked back at Murad who was lagging behind.

She darted up in front of him. "Even with the armor you're a slow swimmer," she chided, although not rudely. Ruto began to swim in rings around the descendent, causing a pressure difference in the water that helped speed him forward. He felt his chest warm as he watched the beautiful Zoran maiden move. He suppressed his feelings however. He knew that she was Cyrus' because she had given the Zora's Sapphire to him, as unwilling as he was. His lip began to curl beneath the coif that was now drawn up to cover his mouth and nose.

The Lakebed Temple still fairly distant, Ruto ceased swimming rings and stopped in front of Murad and swam backwards at the same speed he was moving. "How did you come to know the desire of my heart so well?" she asked. He was a little short on breath due to his swim, but he answered. "As you may guess from his pointed nose and red hair that he's part of the wild men's clans of the Trilby Highlands…"

"Go on," Ruto pressed.

"Well, when he was about fifteen or so he ran from his homeland and his clan to seek his fortune. Eventually he ended up in Ordon, where I live. My family took him in and for a few years we lived together like brothers," Murad related.

When the descendent had stopped, Ruto asked him "Then how did he become a mercenary? And why does he not call you 'brother?'" she asked.

Murad slowed pace slightly, thinking of the time that he and Cyrus had spent together. "I said that we lived like brothers, but we never quite were. As for his becoming a mercenary, he left four years after living with my family, but how he eventually got involved with the Hylian mercenaries I never asked, nor did I particularly care," the descendent of the Hero concluded.

Ruto looked up at the water's surface again anxiously. "Be safe, my love," whispering the same words she had earlier. For the rest of the swim to the Lakebed temple, the pair discussed their lives. They found a lot to talk about due to the great differences in their circumstances.

The Zora Princess returned to the surface several minutes later and found Cyrus kneeling on the ground and panting. Every last one of the tektites was dead, cloven by a sword or broken by shield bashes. The mercenary was spattered with their purplish blood, as were his sword and the edges of his shield. His hair was also disheveled and his shirt was torn in several places, revealing tektite scratches. Ruto squeaked in horror. "Cyrus! Dearest! You are wounded! I told you we should have stayed together!"

The mercenary only looked over himself. "Just a few scratches," he replied absently, wiping some sweat off his brow with a sleeve. He stood up and stumbled. Ruto bounded forward and supported the highlander. "Thanks," he rasped as the glazing was disappearing from his eyes. The Princess was weeping quietly. "I'll be fine, it's just a few scratches," the mercenary growled, sounding more like himself.

"Dearest…" the Princess began. "Tektite spines are poisonous. I weep that we won't be able to live our lives together. I will suck out the venom from your scratches. I may perish, but perhaps in the afterlife…" she trailed, bringing her head close to the nearest scratch. The highlander snapped to attention and pushed her head away with one hand. "For the love of Nayru, do you have any idea what you sound like?" he demanded. "That plant over there with the round leaves is called skullbane. It should counter the poison," he said, pointing to the nearby foliage.

Ruto's face brightened as she zoomed away. "We CAN live together!" she crowed joyfully. Promptly she handed Cyrus the entire plant, roots included. "Here's the skullbane!" she piped. Before he could respond, she had zipped around to his other side and proffered the Zora Armor. "And here's the armor, whenever you're ready," she said. Cyrus was once again feeling uncomfortable with Ruto's behavior.

Murad was apprehensively waiting alone in the entryway of the Lakebed Temple for the other two of the small party to return. The cool air coming off the water caused him to shiver discomfort in addition to his fear. The large room was decorated with relief carvings of fish, Zoras, and other sea life. A staircase led to a door at the other end of the room. Pots lay arranged on shelves lining the walls beside the staircase.

"Where are you Cyrus?" Murad shuddered. "I hope nothing's happened. They've been gone for much too long. What if…" dark thoughts such as these crowded the descendent's mind until he heard angry shouting coming from the hole that led into this part of the temple. "Let go Ruto! I'm fine!" he heard the voice say. Murad sighed in relief at the sound of Cyrus' voice. "I can't allow harm to befall you again! It's my duty as your betrothed…" another voice rang.

Rising out of the hole, Cyrus hurriedly walked toward the staircase. "Let's go," he commanded irritably. "Ruto has your armor."

Murad, out of concern asked "What happened?"

The mercenary spun around to face his friend, impatient anger still in his expression. "What happened?" he repeated. "I got a few scratches from the tektites out there. Just a few scratches! Then this clingy fish gloms onto me for the duration of the swim down here," he grumbled as Ruto rose from the hole. She didn't at all seem offended by Cyrus' demeanor. "As if I wasn't already slowed down enough! I should have known that the Zora Armor wouldn't fit me!" Now Cyrus was shouting at noone in particular. "Thankfully the coif did at least! Oh, and I forgot to mention that that one decided to take another several minutes of our precious time and sew up the tears in my clothes," the mercenary took a few deep breaths.

Murad hastily sidled to his friend. He leaned in close and made sure Ruto couldn't hear. "You flew into a rage fighting so many tektites, didn't you? Try and keep your composure while we're down here, I don't need you fainting on us. Block out the highlander, alright? You learned how to control yourself like any self-respecting Hylian would," he ordered gently. Cyrus' breathing slowed and he nodded. "Sorry for railing on you, Ruto," he apologized.

The Princess smiled in reply. "I love you all the more, my dearest, for showing that you care for me and my feelings," she replied sweetly. Cyrus' mouth tilted up slightly back to the Zora and then he wordlessly turned and headed to the door with the other two close behind. Murad drew his sword.

The next room was a round room with many doors lining the walls. Aside from a waterfall coming from the ceiling and leaving through a grate on the floor, the room was nondescript. Each door had the shape of the Zora's Sapphire carved upon it, but they were all painted a different color. Ruto inched her way to Cyrus again and held one of his hands. Cyrus did not return the gesture of affection, but did not try to free himself. "All business," Murad thought with a grin as he reached into his pack.

The mercenary noted each of the different colors on the doors. "We know that we came in through the green one," Cyrus pointed out as he wrote "entry" near the door with a piece of charcoal he had in his pocket. "How…?" the highlander and the Princess heard Murad mumble in confusion.

"What is it?" the Princess asked, kneeling on the floor with him and looking at the maps he had splayed out. Her jewelry jingled while she moved. Murad rolled up the maps and crammed them into his pack. "These won't do us any good," he grumbled to himself. Standing on his feet, he addressed the others. "Most of my ancestors in times past have come to this very temple, but none of the maps they saved of the place look anything like what we have here," he said gesturing to the room. The descendent turned to Ruto. "Your people certainly have done many impossible renovations on your temple."

Cyrus snapped his fingers in realization. "Of course! This is a Zora Temple, isn't it? Ruto should know the way around here!" he said hopefully, looking to the Princess. She looked down at the ground and absently tugged one of the fins on her head. "You don't know the way, do you?" the mercenary questioned with hope fading. "I've never been in here before," she admitted.

The mercenary huffed in response. "We'll just need to explore these rooms one by one, I suppose," he stated as he looked at each door. He counted eight in total, including the one they entered. "Let's go," he said, heading to the first door on the right. As they walked, Ruto held his arm. The mercenary shook her off and walked into the door, this one with a white carving on it, Murad and the Princess close behind.

"What kind of gentleman are you, Cyrus?" the descendent scolded. "Pardon?" Cyrus asked absently as he examined the room. Murad huffed in frustration as Ruto walked past him. "You didn't even hold the door for your fiancee!" he pointed out. The mercenary looked back at Ruto. "Sorry, they don't teach etiquette in mercenary camps," he said in mock apology as he turned to face Murad halfway through his sentence.

"But as the son of the Laird of Clan Gelight?" Murad continued. "Even a highlander prince should know some basic manners!"

Ruto's coal black eyes widened as she look at Cyrus. "You never said you were a prince!" she chimed brightly. The mercenary stepped back from the advancing Princess. "'Were' is right. I ran away from Gleight and I doubt that my title still holds," he responded. Hopeful realization came as a thought crossed his mind. "I don't think I can marry you due to lack of title," Cyrus said with feigned lamentation. The Princess laid her hands on the mercenary's shoulders and kissed his mouth. "You don't need a title," she said softly. "Even if you did, my father surely would have you knighted for saving my life."

"He didn't," Cyrus grunted as he walked away, slightly annoyed that he wasn't going to get out of marrying the Zora after all. Murad sniggered.

Following the pause in conversation, they each examined the room they were in. It appeared to be a dead end. Torches lined the wall and illuminated an altar in the center of the room and a tapestry of the patron god of the Zoras, Jabun, on the wall opposite the door. Murad noticed that the two torches beside the altar were dark. He approached and lit them with the light he had taken from the wall. Suddenly the air behind the altar shimmered and there appeared a chest, which the descendent promptly opened.

"What is it?" Cyrus asked in anticipation. "A map!" Murad announced gladly. Quickly he unrolled it on the altar to get a good look at it. Cyrus approached but Ruto hesitated. Noticing his folly, the descendent blushed and smiled sheepishly as he moved the map to the floor and sat down to look at it, at which point Ruto joined them. "All these rooms look like dead ends like this one," the highlander observed. "Except for the one directly across the one we came in. That one seems to lead to the rest of the complex."

Princess Ruto fiddled with an earring. "We should examine these other rooms before we move on, dearest. But unless its something we need, we should leave what we find. Some of the things here might be corban." The other two nodded in agreement as they rose and left the room and examined each of the others. The other rooms all had tapestries hanging in them, but the artwork reflected a different god in each room. The only thing that the party found usable in any of these rooms was a small key. "Only one way to go now," Cyrus declared as he put the key in his pocket.

As the party entered the last room, they found that the floor had a thin layer of water on it that was extremely reflective. In fact, it seemed that this water was illuminating the room. Nothing else was in this room except for another door at the opposite end. Murad trotted to the door and attempted to open it, but as he did, three iron bars slid down in front of it, preventing access. "Great," Murad groaned.

"Behind you!" the others alarmed in unison. The descendent turned around just in time to see an ink black doppelganger of himself swing a sword at him. Murad was able to react just quickly enough to avoid being killed then and there. He drew his own sword and prepared for the attack. Naturally, this cowardly descendent of the Hero of Legend was afraid, but he stood firm because there was nowhere for him to go.

The descendent was losing ground to his opponent. "Help me!" he cried out. Just as he had, Cyrus warded a shattering blow with his shield from a doppelganger that looked as he did. "Be right with you Murad, but I'm tied down right now!" he shouted as he kicked his enemy back. "Ruto can you help him?"

"I'd like nothing more, dearest," she answered. Hearing movement behind her, she swung the fluke from the back of her head upward in a stinging blow that caught her shadow behind her with a fleshy slapping sound. "But it seems that I have my own safety to look to," she finished, hardening her fins and spinning around to take advantage of her opponent's temporary loss of balance.

After desperately trying to maintain against such ruthless enemies, Cyrus called out to Murad. "These shadows fight like demons!" he shouted with effort, warding many powerful and successive blows with his shield. "Did your ancestors' journals say anything about fighting beasts like this?"

Murad was astonished as his shadow had leaped up and stood upon his sword as he attempted a thrust. The doppelganger then hopped off and kicked the descendent's shield, causing him to recoil. "One did. He said that his fairy only said 'conquer yourself. Not too helpful."

Ruto's double just had a harsh blow dealt to it. The Princess had grabbed her shadow by the two fins on the side of her head, pulled down and drove her knee up with blinding speed. Her enemy recoiled, but quickly recovered. Taking advantage of her brief respite, she called out to answer the other two. "Perhaps the fairy's advice isn't to be disregarded," she suggested. The shadowy copy of the Zora swung her fins in maddening speed, which the true Princess was able to avoid only by inches. "These could be literal shadows of ourselves," she offered further.

Murad was about to be beaten by his shadow, which had used the same ending blow technique only known to those in the bloodline of the Hero of Legend. Fortunately, he had rolled out of the way and risen again. Before his own attack could land, the doppelganger swung about and parried the blow with its own sword. "Right, just like us," he answered sarcastically. "Except they're much stronger and much faster."

"Watch, if you can!" Ruto called over the commotion. She yelped as the a fin from her enemy left a scratch on her right thigh. "They fight just as we do. My dearest, do you often attack with your shield and feet just as you do your sword?" Cyrus had just in fact ducked below his double's lethal shield swing. The mercenary swung his own shield and caught his enemy in the leg, causing him to reel back. The shadow seemed to feel no lasting pain, however, and continued pressing several attacks to wear down the highlander's energy. "How did she notice my fighting style when she's in a grapple herself?" he thought to himself.

When Cyrus got a chance to rest, he asked Murad "Did your ancestors' journals say anything about how to defeat these beasts?" in earnest. The descendent was losing ground again to his opponent. His energy was declining while the shadow seemed to have a limitless supply. Lethal and faster than humanly possible swings met air or shield, but they were getting closer with each attack to their target. "He said that he used a spell called 'Din's Fire,' but I don't know it, and I know you don't… Ruto?" he panted.

The Princess had just been thrown by her shadow, but she swung her legs around and tripped the inky black doppelganger as she rose. "Few sea Zora can use magic, and I'm not among them," she answered. The shadow had just grappled Princess Ruto, taking advantage of her brief distraction. A sick, sinister pleasure showed itself in the blood-red eyes. Ruto was quickly overwhelmed by the dark twin's superior strength and was wrestled to the ground.

The others had lost their fights as well. Murad was now struggling under the boot of his shadow. "It's the end! The bloodline ends with Murad the coward!" he wailed and sobbed hysterically. As he heard this, Cyrus tried to shout words of encouragement to his friend. He charged Murad's shadow to get it off, but before he could run more than two steps he was grabbed by the collar and thrust against the wall by the demonic strength of his own shadow. Cyrus' double was now pinning him with his shield against the wall. For the first time the shadows spoke in coherent words.

"Watch as your friends die! You led them into this! Revel in their pain!" the mercenary's dark twin hissed in its evil voice. It sounded just like Cyrus, but with much hatred. Ruto struggled under the strangling hand of her enemy. Her gills fluttered desperately for something to breathe, but the scant water on the floor couldn't satisfy her need for oxygen. "How does it feel to know that the bloodline of the Zora royal family will run cold with you? You should have stayed home in Zora's Domain. You should have listened to your father, but you never do, do you?" Ruto's shadow whispered maliciously.

As the Princess tried to force her way free, she managed to gasp out "Cyrus… Dearest… Save me!"

Murad was still babbling hysterically. His double was cackling wickedly. "You should be ashamed to say that you are part of the bloodline of the hero! You can be proud of one thing, you can be the weak link in the chain of the Hero's family that eventually allowed darkness to befall Hyrule by being the one to freeze the bloodline."

Cyrus was still struggling against the shield of his shadow. All three were now chortling balefully. The sound was very unsettling, a sound that filled the hearer with despair. "Ruto! Murad! NO!" the mercenary cried defiantly. The shield was pressed harder against his chest. "You're doomed!" the shadow hissed. The more the highlander struggled, the more force was pressing against him.

Eventually, something broke down in the mercenary's mind, the same thing that happened when he fought the tektites, but on a greater magnitude. In a sudden burst of ludicrous highlander strength, he roared in his highlander tongue and pushed against the wall. He shoved with such force that it freed him from the bondage of his enemy and knocked him to the ground.

He swung his sword in a mighty arc and tore the enemy's blade from his grasp. The red eyes of the shadow widened in terror. Before he could further react, his life was ended by a thrust to the heart. Even though their comrade was dead, the other doppelgangers were still focused on their originals, which resulted in their demise. In the wondrous strength bestowed by a highlander's rage, Cyrus threw his sword and shield. The shield struck Murad's attacker in the back. It collapsed after a sickening crack was heard when the shield landed to break its back. The sword found its mark in Ruto's shadow, burrowing deep.

All three of the dark copies had vanished, those that they were destroying now freed. Murad was still mumbling in hysterics, but now that he was alive. Ruto was on her hands and knees, desperately struggling for breath. Her gills were opening and closing forcefully as well. When her breathing was regulated she gasped lovingly "So fearsome! The fiends had no chance against my dearest!"

Cyrus was standing alone, roaring and bellowing in triumph in his native highlander speech. When he finished, he was panting slowly and deeply, looking at his two charges with the fierceness of a wild predatory animal in his eyes. "Dearest…" Ruto said hesitatingly, approaching the mercenary. She remembered how gruffly he had treated her at previous advances, she wondered how he would behave now, but she cared about the highlander and hoped to soothe him somehow.

Murad had just risen. "Quick!" he called out to Ruto just as Cyrus collapsed, his breathing now regular. The Zora's Sapphire pulsed once while he fell. The Princess managed to take hold of the highlander before he fell entirely. "Cyrus! Dearest!" she screamed. "Are you alright?" she pressed with concern. Murad approached and looked Cyrus over. "He'll be fine," he assured the Princess. "Highlanders can fly into a berserker rage like you just saw when they're pushed to the wall, so to speak. The downside is they can behave quite like animals while it's happening and they'll faint when its over. Sometimes they won't lose consciousness, but they'll be weakened for a while. I'm guessing that's what happened after he got done with the tektites."

"How did you know he was that way after he had fought the tektites?" Ruto asked. Murad shrugged. "I just put the pieces together. He was in a bad mood when you two got down to the temple. I would have thought it was because you were pester… um… helping him get down here, but when I noticed the wounds he sustained I figured his highlander rage was to blame," he explained.

The Princess nodded and yawned. She saw that Murad was preparing three bedrolls. "After that excitement, I think I might want to take a rest as well," he said to answer Ruto's inquiring look. Eventually, all three were in their respective rolls. Cyrus was still unconscious and Murad fell right to sleep, and although Ruto was tired, she was sleepless.

Several hours later, the mercenary awoke. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked around. He saw Murad sleeping peacefully in his bedroll, but the third was empty. Realization came to the highlander as his thoughts collected. His bedroll felt much smaller than it should have. Looking down, he saw a beautiful Zora in his bedroll with him. Which Zora he was unmarried to. Color drained from Cyrus' face as he realized that his personal code of chastity had just been violated, even worse, against his own will. Normally, the barrier in his mind wouldn't be breaking down because of something like this, but like any gate that had had a battering ram bashing it all day, the barrier that had broken down twice recently was very weak.

Fighting to stifle the anger rising inside of him, the mercenary asked as calmly as he could once he withdrew from his bedroll. "Ruto… What are you doing in my bedroll?" The Princess stirred and looked at Cyrus groggily. A smile crawled across her face. "Hello dearest," she said affectionately. She sat up and stretched then looked sweetly at her fiancee. The beauty of the Zora helped to reinforce the barrier in the highlander's mind, but it was too little. He asked again through clenched teeth. "What… were you doing in my bedroll?" he demanded quietly.

"I was cold," she replied innocently. "But not to worry, my love. No wrong was done, I only needed your heat…"

The barrier broke. The highlander stood to his full height and assumed a very imposing posture. "Ruto, you naive, sheltered, romance seeker!" he thundered. Murad awoke and fear rooted itself in the breasts of all present. "We live in a civilized world where the unmarried respect the chastity of one another!"

"But I didn't…" Ruto squeaked. Cyrus ignored her and continued. "Furthermore you continue your advances, completely oblivious that I do not share your feelings!" he bellowed fiercely. As fiery as his anger was, he didn't strike the Princess, but she was beginning to fear that he would. Her eyes quickly darted to Murad to see if he would be able to assuage the fury of the highlander, but to her he still appeared to be sleeping. Seeing that she was alone, she found a knot of courage within herself and held onto it.

The Princess rose to her own full height. She stood only a short few inches below Cyrus. She assumed an air of powerful dignity that only one of her station could gain. "Is this true?" she asked in the same level tone that her father had addressed Cyrus with. The mercenary's volume returned to a normal level. "It is," he answered tersely. A tear ran down one of the Ruto's eyes. She was about to turn and leave, but she noticed the Zora's Sapphire pulse a brilliant blue beneath Cyrus' shirt. She was unaware of the effect it was having on him.

The mercenary noticed that his emotions were suddenly calming like they had in the Gerudos' fortress. "Ruto… I…" he stammered, trying to form an apology, but he couldn't come up with one in time. As quickly as a striking eel, she snatched the Zora's Sapphire and its chain from off of Cyrus' neck. "Then I will remove myself and the token of our engagement and trouble you no longer!" she declared resolutely and with great emotional pain. Throwing it around her own neck, she turned and faced the door. She tried to come with a stinging remark, but refrained, feeling that so doing would degrade her dignity. She walked rapidly out, sobbing along the way and slammed the door behind her.

Murad had risen from his bedroll now and looked shamefully at his friend, who had just buried his face into his hands. "What have I done?" he demanded of himself, slumping to the ground. "I've offended the daughter of my contract holder. I'll be lucky to get paid anything now," he moaned. The descendant's eyes widened in fury. "All you care about is rupees!" he scolded. "Do you not care about the heart you just broke?! Shame upon you, Cyrus of Gleight!"

Cyrus looked up at his friend, face contorted with rage and sadness. "I'm a mercenary! What do you think I really care about?" he demanded. Murad was about to shower more accusations and chastisement, but he refrained. The highlander's words said he didn't care, but his countenance said that he did indeed care about what he had done. The descendent of the Hero saw in his friend a deep regret for offending the woman.

Dropping his head between his knees, the highlander began to mumble further self-directed rebukes. Murad donned his hat and slung his sword and shield onto his back. "Yes, you were wrong, Cyrus," he chastised. Suddenly his voice rose to a commanding shout that caught Cyrus off balance. "But if you would stop wallowing in self-pity you might realize that you can apologize to her later and that right now WE NEED TO GET A MOVE ON!" he roared. The mercenary was stunned. He had never seen Murad react so forcefully in the several years that he knew him.

"Well then," he responded in shock, belting on his sword and slinging on his shield. "Let's go," he said promptly trotting to the door opposite where Ruto left, following Murad's order. "Leave the bedrolls. We can get them later," Cyrus said over his shoulder. He opened the door and froze when he looked in. "What is it?" Murad asked anxiously. Cyrus gulped. "I'll have a chance to apologize to Ruto after all. She left out the other door, right? This one takes us to the way out. She went deeper into the temple… But she didn't come back. She couldn't have not noticed that she went the wrong way. The only thing I can think of happening…" he trailed off.

Murad's eyes widened in horror. "You mean to say that… you think that she… oh no…!" he stammered.

"It doesn't make sense…" Cyrus said as he tried to assure himself as he sprinted to the other door. He tore it open and looked around inside. There was no sign of the Princess in the next room, but a knocked over pot off to the side and a lost leg bracelet revealed that there was a struggle in that room recently. This was enough to confirm Cyrus' fears. He picked up the ornament and looked to his friend gravely. "Ruto's been captured," he declared somberly.


	6. Chapter 6

Just as she slammed the door behind her, Ruto noticed that she had entered the wrong room. Rather than the circular chamber with numerous doors, she was in a worship hall, with a raised dais and pedestal in the center. But instead of turning around, however, she let her feelings overwhelm her and she slumped down against a wall. The Zora's Sapphire, now hers again, glinted in the torchlight emanating nearby.

"Wonderful," she thought to herself. "I can't go back the way I came. How awkward would that be? The same situation would result if I waited until they came in here…" She sighed and reflected on the relationship that had taken form between herself and the mercenary. He had saved her life, and she had felt safe in his strong arms while he helped her regain her composure afterward. The Princess held up the Zora's Sapphire by the chain in front of her face. The rest of her jewelry seemed to pale in comparison to the brilliant cobalt blue artifact.

Perhaps she had been hasty to give the Sapphire to the highlander. She was very drawn to him after he had saved her life. "But then…" she wondered. "Wouldn't anybody be drawn to someone that had just saved them?" Ruto began to consider if she ever really had romantic feelings for Cyrus to begin with. The harder she thought, the less she could understand what she had felt. Eventually she simply dismissed those feelings because she had known the mercenary for so short a time.

But such a thought felt wrong for reasons she could not explain. As confused as she was to the reasons why, the Princess finally admitted to herself that she loved the mercenary, no matter how little time they had actually been together, and no matter how brusque he had been with her. She began to quietly weep. Now any hope of future relationship was very unlikely, it seemed.

As she sat drowning in her feelings, a heavy set of footsteps approached her. Soon they were joined by two others. The Princess wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at who was approaching her. Instantly her sadness turned to inextricable horror at what she saw. Before her stood two tall, burly. lumbering beings. They were covered in coarse scales colored a sick seaweed green, had long sharp teeth, yellow eyes, and short fins on the sides of their heads where a human's ears might be. She was staring into the face of a River Zora.

"Well. What have we here?" the foremost chuckled menacingly. Ruto hardened her fins, but she knew she was no match for the three of the giants before her. Despair began to take hold of her heart. River Zoras and Sea Zoras like herself and become bitter enemies to the extreme since the River Zoras had separated themselves from their more peaceful siblings hundreds of years ago. River Zoras were a violent breed who had become fierce raiders, controlling the rivers of Hyrule for many years, assaulting merchants and anyone else that would traverse their territory. Some time ago these Zoras had their claims wrested from them by the Hylian crown and had adopted a more hit-and-run strategy, attacking and plundering their targets then fleeing to their hiding places before they could be caught.

The River Zoras surrounded the Princess now. "If it isn't the Princess!" one rumbled triumphantly. "The King will be most pleased." Instantly, Ruto lunged to her left, sinking her hardened fins into the River Zora there in a desperate bid to escape. He roared in pain and was gravely injured, but before she could flee, the Princess was grabbed by harsh and strong arms and gagged before she could scream for the two Hylians in the next room for help. Growing even more desperate, she kicked furiously at her attackers, but to no avail. She was slung over the shoulder of one of the raiders and was being taken away. Still struggling furiously, she didn't even notice that the catch on one of her anklets had come loose and had flown off and landed near several pots.

Cyrus and Murad looked around the worship hall to see if there was any sign of where the Princess had been taken. They could form no inclination as to where she had gone, and they decided to methodically visit one room at a time until they had found where she was. Aided by the map they had found, the pair headed to their left. They unlocked the door with the key they had recovered earlier and entered.

Behind this door was a hallway that had four other doors. Each was locked except for the last one on the left. "Wait, Cyrus," Murad said as he grabbed his friend's shoulder. "Does the map say that this one goes anywhere?"

Cyrus shrugged. "You have it. Why don't you check?" The descendent appeared puzzled for a moment, but he quickly realized that he did indeed have the map and sheepishly drew it forth, hastily scanned and replaced it. "Looks like this next room goes down a few floors," he indicated. Once inside this next room, the two were on a ledge looking down into the dark. The mercenary gasped when he saw how high they were and began to shift as far away from the edge as he could while Murad stared into the deep. He dropped a pot down and heard it shatter after about two seconds.

"Murad, what are you doing?" Cyrus hissed. "Someone was bound to hear that!" The descendent turned around and faced the other with indifference. "And who or what have we seen in this place other than our shadows? Nobody heard it," he assured the frightened mercenary, but to no avail. The highlander glared at Murad. "You fool, don't you remember somebody took Ruto?" he growled. Ignoring his friend and looking around, Murad saw an iron post near the edge. He tied a rope to it and motioned Cyrus over. The highlander looked fearfully at his friend and vigorously shook his head.

"I'll go first," the descendent offered. Cyrus tensed and clenched his eyes shut. His expression soured as he waved his hand. "Whatever you want, Murad. You might want to go last so I don't puke on you," he grunted, gripping the rope with every fiber of muscle in his arms and began to inch his way down. Chuckling at Cyrus' remark, he began his descent after the mercenary had gone a few feet. Murad noticed that after passing through the dark that they had seen above that it was beginning to become lighted again. Several torches lined the wall at the bottom. Cyrus didn't notice because he was focusing all of his attention to the rope in front of him.

"Looking good, Cyrus! We're about halfway down!" Murad called cheerfully. The mercenary looked down to confirm the hopeful announcement. "Looks to me only to be about a third of the way down," he grumbled testily, refocusing on the rope. The instant Cyrus' boots touched solid ground again, he dropped to his knees, panting. "I've had too many climbs to suit my lifetime, much less the month." The mercenary collected himself when Murad hit bottom as well. "Where are we?" he asked apprehensively.

"Looks to be a prison block," replied Cyrus. "But this is a temple…" he added suspiciously. A hopeful thought came to the mercenary's mind. "Do you think that Ruto might be down here?" Murad began to have a grin spread over his face. "I thought you would have cared more about the contract then the Princess. What's gotten into you Cyrus?" he replied.

"I um… er…" the mercenary stammered. He eventually managed an answer that made sense to him, but still didn't seem quite right. "It would ruin my reputation if I lost a major figure of royalty on my vigil," he dismissed. Murad rolled his eyes. "Sure…" he said with heavy sarcasm as he approached the prison door and attempted to open it. "The door's locked. Looks like we'll have to climb back up. I know how much you love that."

The mercenary groaned loudly. "Shut up," he grunted. Pacing backwards toward the rope. He felt around for it, but it wasn't there. "Oh no," he gasped. "We're trapped!" The mercenary looked over at Murad who was beginning to slump to the floor. A sharp creak rang through the hall, causing both to jolt. Cyrus tried to look down the hall to see who was coming as he drew his sword, but he couldn't make out who it was. "Hello?" Murad asked hesitatingly.

"Shh!" Cyrus hissed, hiding himself behind a wall close to the door. He cursed that most of the wall was bars between himself and the door. He would have to lunge far from his hiding place to even reach whoever entered. He furiously motioned for Murad to go to the other side, but he was too slow. Great thudding footsteps reverberated down the hall as a small group of River Zoras came in front of their cell. "They came right to us," the foremost rumbled. Malicious, sharp toothed grins appeared on each of the soldiers faces. "Don't think you can hide back there, torch-head," he growled in Cyrus' direction. The mercenary boldly stepped from behind the wall at his full height.

The River Zora rumbled a throaty laugh. "The caged bird still struts! How amusing!" Murad shakily drew forth his sword and readied it, still grateful that the bars separated himself and the captors. Pointing his own sword through the bars at the River Zora, Cyrus threatened "Let us out. Now. And the Princess, too, or you're chum," courageously. All of the River Zoras were now howling with laughter. "You and what army?" crowed one, spitting at the mercenary. Murad's teeth were chattering very loudly now.

Once the monsters composed themselves, their leader spoke. "Now, gentlemen," he began. Cyrus scoffed at the title. "We should grant them their wish. We should take them to see the King, too. So he can properly… apologize." Cyrus prepared himself for a tough fight. He and the descendent were outnumbered by enemies much larger than they were. As the chief Zora was opening the door, however, seven more sets of footsteps entered the hall. Each of the Zoras was armed with their characteristic massive black, cleaver-like swords and simple, unadorned wooden shields.

Upon seeing that they were now hopelessly overwhelmed, the two Hylians reacted differently. Murad simply fainted, while the highlander uttered his darkest curse and threw down his sword and shield, which were procured by one of the guards. The pair promptly had their hands tied behind their backs and were roughly led out of the prison. "Let go of me, you hideous toad! I know how to follow," the mercenary spat to the captor that was pushing him along. The insult only served to have him be more roughly pushed. Cyrus' response was to step on the large, frog-like foot of the guard that pushed him. The Zora roared in pain and boxed Cyrus' left ear.

Shaking his head to clear the pain, the mercenary hardened his expression then kicked the kneecap of the same guard. The two then began to fight each other, but they were quickly separated. Cyrus was pulled from the floor by the foremost Zora, who then sent his heavy fist crashing into the side of the mercenary's head. The powerful blow scattered his mind and stars erupted across his vision. The rest of the trip to see the River Zora King Cyrus was slung over the shoulder of a different guard. "You just can't lose with grace, can you?" Murad whispered to his friend. The mercenary answered nothing and was quiet the rest of the way.

The mercenary was roughly dropped to the floor when they entered the throne room. This chamber was originally designed for a different purpose, but now it was the center of command for the River Zoras. An area in the rear center of the room was raised slightly, and on it was an ordinary-looking cushioned chair flanked by guards and torches. Sitting in it was a River Zora that was larger than the others. His body was marked by many scars. One of his eyes was missing, but no patch was there to hide it. On his waist were two great cleavers. Any of the three captives would have needed two arms to even lift one of the massive weapons.

All around the edge of the room were the rest of the River Zoras. Cyrus and Murad were in the center. Off to the side, the crowd parted and Princess Ruto was led in from a now revealed door. Many of the brutish captors whistled and called out to her as she was led to stand with the Hylians. She had been relieved of all her jewelry, including the Zora's Sapphire. Her hands were tied behind her as well, and her fins were folded in half and tied to her arms so she wouldn't be able to weaponize them. A fresh bruise marred her right shoulder. Though she had been beaten, she still walked and stood with the dignity of a Princess.

Cyrus was relieved to see that the Princess was fine otherwise. "Are you alright?" he asked with concern. "Listen, about the other day…" he whispered, trying to apologize. Ruto ignored him, however, and a River Zora had stepped up behind the three. "Kneel before the King!" he ordered curtly, kicking the backs of the mercenary's legs. His knee buckled, but he kept himself upright with his other leg. Whipping around, he glared at the River Zora. "I'll show you who's to kneel," he growled through bared teeth. The threat was only met by an open palm across his face.

"Hm. Feisty," the River Zora king mocked in his deep, guttural voice as he rose from his throne. All the other River Zora promptly knelt for their King. The Zora approached the three with a great air of superiority and paced around his captives a few times. Murad averted his gaze any time the king looked at him. At one point he flinched as he was passed. Cyrus glared when the King passed by. Ruto did nothing other than stare straight ahead, her back erect.

"Who is it that we have before us?" the king finally rumbled. Murmurs were heard from the River Zoras. He first stopped before Ruto. "I see we have the heiress to the throne of the Sea Zoras. What shall we do with this one?" he asked the crowd. Shouts erupted, suggesting many different horrible things, but they were silence by the king's raised hand. "We may be able to put her up for ransom. The Sea Zora will pay dearly to have their beloved princess back. We may even simply kill her, freeze her bloodline. Our enemies will be torn apart from the inside as they try to raise a new ruler," he suggested loudly enough for his subjects to hear. Voices of assent were heard for both suggestions. A wicked smile of sharpened teeth appeared on the king's face. "But no matter what we do, we ought to have a bit of fun with her first right?" he crowed heinously. Cheers erupted from all around. The Princess recoiled slightly and took a step back. "You BEAST!" Cyrus hissed.

The River Zora king next stopped before Murad. "He wears the hero's clothes," he announced. The descendant's mind was racing furiously. "Please don't kill me," he plead silently, desperately, as if his mere wish would save him. The king continued to address the mob. "We should just kill this one. He looks too young to have sired children. If we end him, it will be the end of the heroes. No force would be able to step forth and halt the advance of shadow into Hyrule at that point. Then we River Zora could do as we please. Maybe even rule over the blasted Sea Zora!" Again, the crowd reacted to show their assent.

Lastly, the king approached Cyrus, who was still fuming. He had since recovered from the harsh punch he had received earlier. "This one looks like the chieftain of one of the highland villages we raided," the king proclaimed. The mercenary's expression hardened slightly as the king continued his presentation. "How pitiful those clansmen were! The torchheads of clan Gleight, was it?" The king was now more insulting Cyrus than he was addressing his people. "Even the Kokiri were more of a challenge than your people," he rumbled. By now, the proud highlander had enough and responded to the king's insult of his homeland. "You must be the one from our stories, devil. You kill and do worse to the women and children. You force the captives to watch you torture their families," he accused sharply. The Zora king smiled his wicked grin again. "Something I take great pride in," he answered. Cyrus drew himself up to his full height and assumed an air that he hadn't for years, one of the highlander prince of Gleight. "You will pay for all you've done to my people. Dor lem numach!" he cried, spitting on the Zora King's face. All around the court were shouts and threats directed at the highlander. The king only wiped off the spittle and threw it to the floor. "You challenge me to a ritual duel? Very well. I've humored others of the highlanders, I will for you as well. Make your preparations," he ordered as he walked away from the captives and said something to one of his men.

"Cyrus, have you lost your mind?" Murad demanded as the three had their bonds undone. Only Cyrus had his weapons returned and Ruto still had her fins tied to her arms. "Look at him! He probably weighs twice you do in muscle alone!" the descendent continued. All three looked to the king and saw that he was sharpening his cleavers. For the first time since they had been reunited, Ruto spoke. "What's going on? What's this 'ritual duel'?" she inquired. The mercenary assumed solemnity as he began to explain. "Ritual duels are an ancient practice in the Trilby Highlands. What separates a ritual duel from any other is that each side will state certain terms for those that the other represents must fulfill in the event of their defeat." Ruto shook her head. "The River Zoras are oathbreakers. They will never live up to these terms," she protested.

"I know," the highlander dismissed as he began to remove his shirt. Both the other two looked at him in confusion. "What are you doing?" they asked in tandem. Out of his pocket, Cyrus drew a glass bottle of blue paint. "Very powerful magic surrounds a ritual duel. This magic forces compliance to the terms," he explained as he uncorked the bottle. "Ruto," he said, extending the bottle to her. She hesitantly stepped forward and took it. "Do you know what the highlander's weave looks like?" he asked.

Ruto became puzzled. "I do…" she replied hesitantly. The highlander nodded and dipped two fingers into the jar of paint. "Good," he grunted. He began to indicate on various parts of his upper body where certain designs and symbols needed to go. The Princess was stunned at the request. "Why…?" she managed. Cyrus turned toward her, his face already had several intricate blue markings on it. "A woman from the clan is supposed to help me put on the paint. Since I'm away from my clan, you are the only one that can do this," the mercenary answered directly.

"I still don't understand," Ruto retracted.

"It's part of the magic behind the duel, Ruto. These incantations and rites are so old that none remember the whole meaning or reasoning behind them," he explained. The Princess dipped her finger in the paint gingerly and looked at Cyrus' bare back. "I see…" she replied quietly. She began to feel great concern for the Hylian. "Cyrus…" she began, looking down. The highlander grunted "hm?" in reply.

Before she could finish her thought, however, the highlander addressed Murad, who was inching away from him. "Murad, you'll be my second. Your job is to proclaim my terms at the beginning of the fight, watch my things, and if a respite is called, clean and bind any wounds I might get. Also, if I declare him an unworthy opponent, you will deal the ending blow. I assume that he holds the water medallion, and for you to do your part to retrieve it, you will have to do this." The descendent looked again at the huge cleavers that the Zora king was going to be using. "I think any wounds you get will be beyond cleaning and binding," he mumbled.

Now finished with his part of the intricate ritual designs, the mercenary waited patiently for the Princess to finish as she ran a paint covered finger around his back. When she came to a certain point, he heard her gasp. "What is it?" he asked in concern. Ruto paused for a moment then asked, "What will happen if I make a mistake?" she asked with lamentation. After the mercenary thought for a moment, trying to recall, he answered once the memory came to him. "Only a few specific spots need to be perfect. That isn't one of them," he assured. "It does need to be symmetrical, though. Just cover it up with a handprint and put another on the other side."

Ruto smeared some paint across her hands. She felt her face flush as she was about to make the prints. "Can the prints be webbed?" she asked as she pulled at the webbing on one hand, trying to figure out how to make the print without the webs. The mercenary shook his head. He felt himself begin to blush as well. "It should be fine," he answered quietly. The Princess made a breath of relief and continued.

While the Princess was working on a complicated, weaving, highlander knot design, the mercenary cleared his throat. "I'm… very sorry about what I said yesterday. That was no way to react to something like that. And no way to treat a Princess-or any lady-either. I know you weren't doing anything wrong. Yes, it's against my own morals to be in the same bedding as a woman I'm unmarried to, but I overreacted," he confessed humbly. A small smile came to the Princess' face. "It's alright my dea-Cyrus," she said. "I should be apologizing to you," the Princess added.

"Milady?" Cyrus asked, using the formal title in regard to the Princess for the first time.

"That title makes me cringe," Ruto dismissed. She continued after the mercenary's apology. "The way I'd been acting all of this time. I can see now how it must have annoyed you. I must have been a great burden," she conceded. The highlander again felt something inside of him. "No trouble," he replied softly. Stepping back abruptly, the Princess spoke again. "It's done," she announced, jolting herself to her senses. Cyrus started as well, and looked over where he could. "It looks great Ruto. The magic will be satisfied," he finished gladly as he procured his sword as well as one of the unattended River Zora shields laying on the ground. On it he began to mark the sigil of clan Gleight with his paint.

While he was working, the Princess approached and placed a now clean hand on the mercenary's shoulder. "Is there any way out of this?" she asked apprehensively. The highlander rose and faced the Sea Zora. "There isn't. The magic was invoked when I made the challenge. And this is now also a matter of my personal honor. As much as I don't want the title, no matter how little I deserve it, and even if I don't think I'll become so anyway, I still may be the next to be Laird of clan Gleight, and as such I must go through with this," he answered somberly. Ruto averted her coal black eyes. "I understand," she resigned. "Be careful," she cautioned with great feeling. Cyrus smiled and called out to Murad. When the two were close, the mercenary whispered his terms to his friend. "High stakes," the descendent responded, raising his eyebrows. "Listen Cyrus," he piped as they turned from each other. "You were like a brother to me. You stood up for me when nobody else would. I might not be the bravest soul, but when I think about it, you pushed me to do a lot of things that I'm better for. I really do owe you, even after all these hair-brained adventures you've dragged me on."

The mercenary beamed. "Just so you don't have sour words at parting, huh?" he asked, grinning. Murad looked at his friend in disgust. Cyrus came close to Murad again and placed his left hand on the descendent's right shoulder and raised his forearm between them both. He nodded to Murad to do the same. When he did, the highlander twisted his arm with the other's as much as they would go. "Family tie," he explained. "If I have any authority left at all, this means you're part of clan Gleight now… brother," he finished. Murad released his arm and looked stunned. "Me, a highlander?" he asked in shock as Cyrus walked away and assumed position, calling for the River Zora king and his second to take their places as well.

Cyrus and the River Zora king stood several feet apart facing each other. The highlander appeared stern and stalwart, while the other appeared to be anticipating a gruesome slaughter with delight. Murad and the king's second stood next to each other off to the side, hands folded before them and eyes closed. Murad was the first to speak. "Cyrus of clan Gleight, challenging. His terms are that the River Zoras disband, that they cease their raids on all of Hyrule and that they release the three prisoners, himself, Murad the Descendent of the Hero, and Ruto, Princess of the Sea Zora," he announced. No one else spoke until Murad's voice finished reverberating off the walls. His voice rang louder than normal and the echos lasted longer than it seemed they should have. When all was again silent, the Zora king's second proclaimed his terms. "Krohd IV, King of the Zoras defending. His terms are that the highlander clan called Gleight and the Sea Zora become subjected to the River Zoras as slaves. He will also reserve the right to do with Murad and Cyrus as it pleases him, be it imprisonment, execution, or otherwise. Lastly, the Princess Ruto will become his personal concubine until he tires of her, at which point he will dispose of her how he pleases." The gravelly and deep voice of the River Zora echoed just as Murad's voice did. Upon hearing the terms that concerned her, Ruto cringed and undiluted horror manifested itself on her face. She began a fervent yet quiet prayer to the gods for Cyrus' victory in this duel.

Both seconds looked to their masters, and both gave a short nod. In unison, the seconds announced solemnly "the terms are found acceptable. The duel begins NOW!" Upon the beginning of the duel, the River Zora king approached, sliding his two great cleavers together, producing a piercing metallic ring that permeated the whole room. Cyrus bashed his sword against his shield twice, and then bellowed a war cry with a ferocity that the highlander had never called forth in his life. Before while he tried to maintain the barrier in his mind between the more rational Hylian and the aggressive highlander, now he forcefully tore it down. "EULIA!" he roared, calling upon the victory goddess of the Trilby clansmen.

Rumbling a deep laugh, the king brought down his two cleavers in a devastating downward blow. Cyrus leapt to the side to avoid the attack. Both cleavers landed with a deafening clang, breaking the floor stone they hit. "That shield won't do him much good," Murad whispered quietly in despair. The highlander then made an offensive move, thrusting his sword forward, but it was battered aside. The king then swung his blades sideways in opposing directions. In stunning acrobatics, the mercenary leaped off the ground and passed through the two deadly weapons, landing again on his feet and facing his opponent after completing a backflip. Both of his charges widened their eyes in disbelief. Murad muttered to himself again "I didn't know he could do that."

Cyrus attempted to drive his shoulder into his opponent, but the king's mass completely absorbed the assault. While they were close, the king rumbled "nimble one, aren't you?" before he swung a heavy cleaver. The mercenary danced away and charged, swinging his sword, and when that blow was parried, his shield. Both were deflected, but they left the Zora open, and the highlander kicked his enemy in the stomach, knocking out a breath. "I couldn't say the same for you, swamp bloat," Cyrus shot back, a highlander accent now in his voice that not even Murad had ever heard.

Heavy blows were raining down upon the mercenary. Fear was rising in Ruto's chest as she saw Cyrus struggling against such brutal attacks. He was disadvantaged as his frame could not withstand deflecting the massive cleavers of his enemy, yet the gigantic bulk of the River Zora allowed him to absorb and parry several of Cyrus' attacks, if he was fast enough. The highlander did leave a deep cut across his enemy's chest, but the wound only slowed the monster slightly. "Is there anything you can do?" Ruto pleaded with Murad. The descendent bit off a piece of fingernail as he shook his head. "The most I can do is deal the finishing strike should Cyrus ask me to. Otherwise, I'm helpless as you are," he dismissed. The Princess' gills fluttered and the fluke on the back of her head twitched nervously.

The mercenary was fighting much more aggressively than he usually did, reflecting his inner highlander spirit, but his energy was waning. He retreated to a short distance away from his opponent and took a deep breath. A wicked smile that the three had seen on so many River Zoras faces had shone on the king's. He did not move from his place, but rather inhaled deeply, and blew out a blazing fireball to Cyrus. The projectile was coming at the mercenary too quickly for him to do much else other than raise his wooden shield to ward it. The shield absorbed the fireball, but was quickly burning to a cinder. The highlander threw the burning ward at his enemy before it could scorch his arm. The king swatted it aside as if it were no more than a mosquito.

"What a pretty picture you drew on your shield," the king jabbed condescendingly. Anger rose even higher within the mercenary, though his emotions were already churning wildly in the spirit of the duel. "You dare mock AND burn the sigil of my clan? You will pay!" he shouted, gripping his sword in both hands and bringing them down in a powerful blow. As the king raised his cleavers to defend, grinning and goading "too easy." Before the attack landed, Cyrus feinted and swung the sword lower, leaving a deep gash on the River Zora's thigh, causing him to roar in pain.

Out of the spectating crowd, one of the River Zora King's subjects turned and addressed his fellows. "Zoras! Our King has lead up to many victories! Let's give him some encouragement!" he bellowed. All of the River Zoras there began a war chant and to stomp their feet in time. Their King was roused by the war chant, and charged at Cyrus, becoming a great juggernaut, even with his wounded leg. The mercenary was able to dive to the side just in time. He made an attempt at the king's now exposed back, but he tripped on the floor stone that had been broken earlier. The King was now facing the highlander again, who had rolled to recover his fall and aimed a slash as he regained his footing.

The River Zora was now laughing triumphantly as he attacked with his great weapons without stop. It was costing Cyrus a lot of his energy to avoid every blow and to attempt his own quick attacks. Other than the shallow wounds he had inflicted earlier, he could gain no ground. "Respite!" the highlander called out desperately. The king brought his face down low to the panting highlander's as the attacks briefly ceased. "Denied," he rumbled, kicking the highlander away, causing him to reel back and land sprawled out on the ground.

The mercenary was struggling to recover from landing on hard stones. Sweat was running down his face as he panted. He looked at the approaching beastial figure of his opponent, his own vile green scales glistening with perspiration. The highlander attempted another slash, but his sword met a cleaver while it was in motion, and his blade was torn from his hand. Seeing their friend nearly at his doom, Murad covered his face and Ruto wailed in denial. The king roared in triumph as he prepared to land the death blow. As he did, Cyrus felt something in his pocket. "Any last words, torchhead?" the king asked maliciously.

Panting and kneeling on the ground, the highlander looked up at his enemy. In one motion he drew forth from his pocket Salin's knife that he had shaved with days before and leaped upon the king, driving the small weapon into his chest. "Ruha take you," the mercenary hissed as he tore himself away and recovered his sword. The king was now howling in rage, pain and surprise. The small weapon may have been well placed, but the king's fury prevented him from feeling the pain for long. Tearing the weapon out and throwing it across the room, he began to lumber again toward the lean muscled highlander.

The noise from the River Zoras intensified. Murad and Ruto were cheering as well, but they were drowned out by the deafening rumble of the voices of so many large monsters. Cyrus had just scampered atop the raised area where the throne sat to secure the high ground, zig-zagging as he went in an attempt to slow the king's momentum. As he closed distance, the River Zora spun around with his arms out, creating a lethal cyclone with his blades. The mercenary ducked in time to evade and jabbed his sword, sinking it the few inches he could into the enemy's stomach.

"DIE!" the king bellowed, now bringing his full weight into the next blow. He let his two cleavers fall on either side of the highlander to trap him, then he launched a powerful kick into Cyrus' gut, sending him reeling back, gasping for air and clutching his stomach in pain. The River Zora was now done toying with his opponent. He charged forward with full force, prepared to make the killing blow. As Cyrus knelt, he could now hear Ruto's voice pierce all the noise of the triumphant cheering of the River Zoras. "Cyrus! For Hyrule!" she screamed loudly as she could to be heard. Even in his moment of doom, the highlander was invigorated by the Princess' encouragement. He charged at the king himself, avoiding lethal blades and burrowed his own weapon deep into the River Zora's chest. His people were now boo-ing the highlander and making grievous threats to him.

The king groaned in agony and rolled slightly. Triumphantly, Cyrus called out something in his highlander tongue to Murad, but then repeated in Hylian. "He is unworthy! FINISH HIM!" he crowed. Murad looked apprehensively at the prostrate form of the monstrous king. Cyrus had slid his own sword toward to his friend, who was hesitating. "Go!" Ruto urged. At this, Murad sprinted forward, leapt high into the air, and landed the famous ending blow of the heroes into the heart of the Zora king.

Enraged River Zoras all around the room bellowed all manner of foul language to the three. They bashed their weapons and shields together, but as angry as they were, they did not attempt to attack the small party. "Behold, the magic of the duel takes hold already!" the highlander proclaimed victoriously. As he did, an almost blindingly bright white light shone from the lifeless corpse of the Zora king. The light coalesced just above him and began to take the shape of a small round disc. The light soon turned to a deep, dark blue. Etched into it were six teardrop shapes emerging out of the center of the talisman. The party had recovered the water medallion!

Amongst the jeers of the monsters, the relic fell on Murad's head, who was still clutching Cyrus' sword which was burrowed into the lifeless king. "Victory for Gleight!" Cyrus proclaimed proudly, raising his arms to the air. As he lowered them he embraced Ruto with one strong arm and looked deep into her eyes. "Our task is finished," he growled joyfully in the highlander accent that had shown itself. "Let us away, m' bonnie sea maiden." The Princess didn't resist, but her eyes widened in surprise. "What?" she gasped. The highlander quickly released her and looked away, his accent now gone. "I… sorry… That was the highlander talking," he answered nervously. Ruto began to feel her face flush as well, almost matching the magenta of the fins on the crown of her head. "No offense taken, d- Cyrus. Our things are over there," she finished with a finger pointed toward the party's mound of gear.

River Zoras all around the room were still roaring in fury and disbelief at the death of their King. As much as they wished to rush at the highlander to destroy him, they found that they were unable. Each of the three recovered their gear from the pile. Ruto began to put on and fasten the many jewels that were taken from her. WIth a cry of relief she also found the Zora's Sapphire. Looking at Cyrus briefly as he was putting his shirt back on, she shook her head and hung the ancient talisman about her own neck. Murad had found his own belongings, most of which were old tools and weapons from his ancestors, a few of which he didn't even know how to use. Lastly, the mercenary wiped his sword clean and recovered his own scant belongings, his shield, and Salin's knife.

When Murad picked up the Water Medallion, a blue light instantly appeared near the three and the lifeless body of the River Zora King turned black and disappeared in a puff of dark smoke. When the mist cleared, a large heart-shaped crystal bordered with gold inlay was left behind. Inside the crystal, the pink shape of a heart was pulsating as if it were beating. "It's beautiful," Ruto commented as she approached and procured it. "I think it will make a fine trophy for this adventure," she announced. Suddenly, the stone vanished and became several brilliant golden sparkles that encircled the Princess and then disappeared. "What was that?" Cyrus asked out of suprise. Murad's face remained blank. "I know what it was, and I would have liked it…" he murmured too quietly for the others to hear. Ruto checked herself over. "I don't know…" she confessed. "But I feel… stronger," the Princess eventually stated.

The highlander shrugged and walked toward the blue light. "This usually means it's our way out, right Murad?" he asked. Giving a brief nod, the descendent approached the light but was restrained by the highlander. "Ah. Ladies first," he cautioned. He then bowed low and extended an arm toward the light. The Princess smiled and replied "how gentlemanly," to play along. Murad rolled his eyes as Ruto passed and then Cyrus followed in close behind her. Emboldened by the safety the magic of the ritual dual, Murad showed an offensive gesture to the River Zoras in parting as he hopped into the light himself.

The three companions appeared on a small island in the lake near the defiled Lakebed Temple. Each breathed a sigh of relief now that their task was nearly completed. All that was left was to return the Medallion to King Ralis in Zora's Domain. Ruto walked over to the water's edge and laid down beneath the surface, breathing deep with her gills. She closed her eyes in serenity and relaxed for a moment to recover from the heinous threat that she become a concubine to the vile River Zora King. Murad untensed as well, but reacted quickly enough to catch Cyrus when he fainted as was characteristic of his ending a highlander rage.

When the mercenary came to, it was still mid afternoon. The cool air wafting off the glistening surface of Lake Hylia was very refreshing. Cyrus leapt up to his feet and found Murad and Ruto waiting faithfully for him to awaken. He stretched out and addressed the Princess. "I would have thought you'd have gone home," he said. Ruto shrugged. "I just felt that I needed to apologize again from the way I'd been acting. You were very uncomfortable because of the way I was behaving," came the reply. The mercenary rolled his shoulders to further limber up. "This is more or less the same conversation we had in the temple. It might have made me uncomfortable, but I shouldn't have been so rough when I rejected your advances."

Murad interrupted their conversation. "Of course not, but it only shows that you liked her back," he said nonchalantly. Both the highlander and the Princess froze and looked at Murad and then at each other in disbelief. Cyrus could only stammer and Ruto's jaw dropped. Her gills also fell open and the water they were holding fell out. "Cyrus…" she managed after a moment. A wide grin spread across Murad's face. "I have a talent for reading people," he said to answer the unasked question.

"How…?" the mercenary struggled. Murad stood and looked at each in turn. "It's something you learn from grade school, Cyrus. You vehemently oppose advances from the girls because you don't want anyone to know you like them. You behave in even worse fashion to the ones you like the most. And Ruto…" he paused and looked at the Zora. "Cyrus told me that he saved your life, right? A strange trust automatically forms from something like that quite often. But… I can't figure out why you were so creepy…" the descendent cut himself off when he realized the crassness of his word choice.

"Advice I got from a book," she answered quietly as she tugged one of her head fins. "What book?" Murad pressed. "Doctor Golden Gloves' Golden Advice for the Hopeless Romantic," she replied tersely. Immediately both Hylians burst out into loud laughter. Ruto quietly chuckled as well, feeling embarrassed. Once they composed themselves, Cyrus apologized profusely and wiped his eyes. The laughter ceased entirely and none of the three said anything for several moments. Eventually, the Princess slowly drew the Zora's Sapphire and held it by the chain. "I… wondered..." she said haltingly. "Do you want this back?" The highlander was torn. Thinking hard on what his friend had said, he found that he did indeed have feelings for the beautiful Zora maiden despite how he'd been acting, but he hardly knew her. They hadn't met but just over a week before. His thinking was broken by the descendent of the Hero. "Oh, do it Cyrus," he said impatiently. "Think of it. The wild highlander turned rough mercenary and the refined Zora Princess. You two are so different you're a perfect fit for each other."

The mercenary glared at the descendent. "But… I'm not even a Zora. How would our relationship work? And what of proper courtship? And on top of it all, I never really was considering marriage," he argued to himself. Suddenly, Ruto perked up. "Something you should think about Cyrus," she began. "I remember one of my tutors tell me this: there is a difference between love and infatuation. Infatuation tends to shrink over time, but the cliched 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' holds true. Think, Cyrus, as I will; should we be away from each other, would we thirst for each others' presence again or would we come to desire our separate ways? I know it's not much of a way to tell if we should be together for sure or not…" she implored and then trailed off.

Murad looked between the two several times until eventually the highlander and the Zora stood and faced each other and slowly drew nearer. The Princess wrapped her arms around the mercenary and for the first time since he had met her, returned the gesture more than willingly. Ruto then removed the Zora's Sapphire and placed it over Cyrus' head. He looked down at it and smiled, and the two kissed each other.

Clearing his throat, Murad brought their attention back away from each other. "I hate to spoil such a great romance," he said. "But the medallion?"

"Of course…" the highlander replied distantly. A thought brought him fully back to his senses. "There has to be another way up the river. I'm DONE with heights and climbing!" Murad looked up the falls and then back at Cyrus. "Get over it!" he grunted impatiently. He was anxious to return home to Ordon, but also he was perturbed because the wedding between the highlander and Ruto wouldn't become as awkward as he hoped.

"Murad," the Princess jokingly scolded as she lightly slapped his shoulder. The descendent thought for a moment about how he could convince Cyrus to climb the waterfall. He thought the best way would be to have him fall unconscious and then hoist him up by rope. He thought of a burning insult to prompt a rage. "Hey Cyrus, I heard your mother…" he began but was cut off by the Princess. "You didn't know about the North Hyrule Gate?" she asked. Her question was answered by the dumbfounded looks on both Hylians' faces.

"In the Hyrule Field north of Castle Town there's a tunnel that leads right to Zora's Domain. I don't know why so few people know about it. It's not as if it's hidden or our people try to suppress knowledge of its existence," she explained.

"I do love you!" the highlander breathed in relief. "We just need to get up there," he said pointing to the top of the cliff and approaching the Great Cannon. Followed by the other two, Cyrus was warmly greeted by the clown manning the gigantic machine. He did a merry dance when he saw them. "Oh look! You brought friends. DIscounts for referrals!" he piped joyfully. "And I also thought of a rhyme for you and the Gerudo! Listen to this…" he said, but he stopped when he saw Ruto approach the mercenary and take hold of one of his arms. "On second thought, that might be a bad idea," he hastily corrected himself. Cyrus grinned. "Smart man. Now, can we go up?" The clown looked at the three in surprise. "Go up? GO UP?!" he crowed. He then commenced a flashy sales pitch, to which all three agreed and were blasted up to the funhouse one by one.

"Help me find my anklet, I think it came loose," Ruto groaned when she picked herself up. The loud blast of the Great Cannon rang out across the lake once again, followed closely by a golden anklet inlaid with a ruby which had a note attached to it. "That's it!" the Princess cried, fastening it on and examining the note. "Management not normally responsible for lost or stolen articles, but I just couldn't let a pretty Zora worry about her missing jewelry," she read.

The three proceeded to take their journey toward the North Hyrule entrance to Zora's Domain. Murad looked out over the rolling plains that were Hyrule field, then looked southward in the direction of Ordon, then again toward Zora's Domain. "Can I go home now?" he bluntly asked. Cyrus wanted to be alone with the Princess, but he suggested a different idea. "Murad, we really should get the Princess home first. She's already been gone for a few days and the King is probably worried about her. Plus, I think you should be there personally when I… we receive our reward. You were indispensable to this contract, you should receive due recognition," he said. The descendent groaned in exasperation, but he went without argument. Just a few short yards into the trip, Murad mumbled "You do realize that going this way to Zora's Domain will take longer?" Ruto kept moving, but Cyrus turned and faced his friend with an expression that regarded the descendent as if he had just said something that violated the painfully obvious.

The emerald green grasses waved lazily in the breeze. Cyrus spotted the area where he had first met Ruto and saved her life from two lizalfos. Something occurred to him when he remembered the scene, and then when he recalled the Princess' combat prowess. "Remember when I killed those lizalfos that were chasing you?" he began. The Princess turned to face him. "What about it, love?"

"Couldn't you have taken them yourself?"

Ruto shook her head, jingling her necklaces and earrings. "There were actually six of them. I knew I couldn't face so many myself. I suppose I just outran most of them and didn't notice until I saw you defeat the two remaining."

"Ah," the mercenary breathed. The sun was beginning to make its way toward the west as the companions crossed the bridge spanning the branch of the Zora's River that ran through this part of Hyrule. Ruto had opted to swim across the river instead, and she had reached the other side before the Hylians. "Even if it is a longer trip to Zora's Domain, we picked the perfect day for it," she sighed contentedly. Both men grunted in affirmation, after which Murad leaned to the highlander. "She can be as bubbly as seafoam, can't she?" he asked jokingly. The dig was met by a sharp nudge from the mercenary. Murad bumped him back, which caused Cyrus to belch loudly. Both of the others looked at him disapprovingly. "Sorry," he murmured apologetically. "You can't be doing that as a Prince of my people," Ruto reprimanded. The highlander suddenly came to realize that he was soon to adopt a lifestyle that was quite different than what he was used to.

"And just what else am I expected to do?" asked the mercenary. It may have sounded curt, but his question was an honest one. Murad grinned. "You're going to have a fine time molding this grungy merc into a respectable gentleman," he warned Ruto. The Princess looked over just as Cyrus had picked up a rock and threw it at a bokoblin, knocking him unconscious. "I think he just needs to learn something about etiquette, but he's got a certain quality that I can't quite figure out that I love about him," she replied quietly so Cyrus wouldn't hear her.

"And just what is that quality?" Murad began. "Lack of quality?" he added sarcastically while he watched Cyrus pop his knuckles. A slight grin appeared on the Princess. "It's that roguish charm that comes with being a mercenary, probably," she said after thinking a moment. Murad huffed at this answer and increased his pace slightly.

The next several minutes drifted by silently. Cyrus and Ruto were close to each other much of the time while Murad frequently checked the position of the sun. "How far is it?" he asked, growing impatient with the length of the journey. The company was beginning to crest a small rise. The ground grew much rockier and the vegetation disappeared. "That's just it over there," Ruto indicated with a point. "Good, because I'm done with this ridiculous venture. I want to get back to-unf!" he grunted when he walked into a Zora guard in front of the entrance. Rather than the characteristic fish head-shaped helmet, he wore a different set of armor that Cyrus recognized instantly. "Which of your officers did you belt to get stuck with guard duty, Salin?" the mercenary prodded.

"I didn't-" the mercenary-turned guard began. With a start, he stood at attention at the sight of the Princess. She looked to Cyrus. "You know this Zora?" she asked, her eyes widening. Before the highlander could reply, Salin cut in. "Princess you are aware of the dangers outside Zora's domain," he chastised gravely. The Princess assumed her stately posture and answered in her level royal's tone of voice. "I was assisting these men to conduct business on behalf of the Zora people," she proclaimed.

"And just what was that business?" the other Zora shot back. Just then he caught sight of Murad. He gained a puzzled expression. "The Hero of Legend?" he addressed with hesitation, knowing that the Hero had since died many years ago. Murad shook his head in the negative. "His grandson," he replied tersely.

"Well met, nonetheless. Anyone of the bloodline is welcome here," he greeted with an extended hand. "Who are you?" the descendent asked briefly, returning the gesture. Both looked over at the other two. Ruto was now lecturing the highlander on how he should behave himself when they entered. "My name's Salin," the Zora said. "I think that outside of Zora's Domain I'm more commonly known as the 'Unchained Barracuda,' a name that I earned during my mercenary days."

Murad searched his memory for a moment. "I can't say I've heard of you, but my hometown is small and out of the way," he answered with a shrug. "Why do they call you the 'Unchained Barracuda'?" Murad asked out of curiosity. Salin had just turned toward Cyrus and Ruto who were now embraced. "Do you mind?!" he barked. The Zora then turned back to answer Murad's question. "My aggressive fighting style and lack of respect for authority. By the way, what brings you so far from home?" Catching another glance at the two lovers, Murad replied "Cyrus got a contract he needed my help with. We're here to claim the bounty,"

"The Water Medallion?" Salin asked, now looking toward the other two himself. They were now kissing each other. "Looks like they found something else out there, too," he mumbled. Calling his attention back to the conversation, the Zora piped "I should probably take you to the King in that case. See if you can pry those two loose."

As they made their way to the palace, Salin called for the crowds to part. Whispers erupted from the crowd as they saw Cyrus and Ruto walking arm in arm with the Zora's Sapphire dangling from the mercenary's neck. The children in the crowd were more interested in Murad. Many alerted their parents that the legendary Hero had come to their city. Upon reaching the castle, Salin announced the three arrivals and introduced the King, then bowed himself and left to return to his post.

King Ralis leaned forward in his throne. "Cyrus. I see you've returned with my daughter and one other. I trust it went well?" The mercenary and descendent bowed low to the King. When he arose, Cyrus addressed the King. "The task is done, Your mag-" the mercenary was cut off by an impatient Murad, who pushed in front, holding the Water Medallion. The many courtiers gasped when they saw the legendary artifact. "Sire, my name is Murad. Grandson of the Hero Link. Here is the Water Medallion. What was the payment discussed? I want at least 80 percent after what this joker put me through."

Ruto glared disapprovingly at the descendent, while Cyrus bumped him away and snatched the Medallion. The King said nothing of the outburst. "Pardon him, milord," Cyrus apologized. "If it pleases you, I would like to use this job as a demonstration of my worthiness to marry your daughter." If the king had an eyebrow, he would have raised it in interest. Murad dropped his jaw and was about to protest, but was silenced by a raised hand from the mercenary. "Also, while we were carrying out this task, we found that the Lakebed Temple had been infested and defiled by River Zoras. Their King was killed by Murad."

King Ralis' expression brightened significantly. "The vile usurper is dead? Is this true?" he asked hopefully. All three nodded in reply. The King fell back in his throne and breathed a sigh of relief. "500,000 rupees to you, Sir Murad, as well as Knighthood," he said breathlessly. Rising from his throne, King Ralis procured a sword and immediately knighted Murad, who arose with a stunned, yet overjoyed expression. "Don't say I never did anything for you," Cyrus whispered to his friend.

When the King returned to his jewel inlaid throne, he addressed Cyrus again. "Does my daughter agree to your proposal?" The Princess looked deep into the mercenary's blue eyes. She stared into them lovingly for a few seconds before answering her father. "I find this man to be honorable, trustworthy, gentle, and willing to defend myself and all of his loved ones," she announced, still looking at her fiancee. "I choose him," she finished. Murmurs sounded throughout the throne room, but they were silenced by the rising king. "Cyrus," he began. "My daughter finds you a man of great character. I see it in you as well. Your refusal to take payment for what must have been a difficult task, given how long you were gone is proof to me of your great heart. But…" he hesitated, fingering the pommel of his sword, considering dispensing another title. "Have you royal blood?"

Cyrus smiled and replied. "Hrau doreyas ayehi Gleight. I am son of the Laird of Clan Gleight of the Trilby Highlands," he proclaimed. The purple hued Zora King clapped his hands and announced for all present to hear. "Make ready a banquet immediately. Princess Ruto and Laird's Son Cyrus shall be married within the week. Cheers erupted from the nobility present that believed in the highlander's honor while he and the Princess embraced and kissed each other passionately. Murad folded his arms and said "You've done well, my brother. You've done well," too quietly to be heard over the din.


End file.
